About Me

Iliana at work

Who I am

I'm a London-based scenic artist specialising in large-scale scenic painting, faux finishes and surface texture for stage. My placement experience at the Royal Opera House Workshop and Queen's Theatre Hornchurch has built a strong production foundation: scaling up, wet blending, lining, marbling, wood graining and built texture.

I hold a broad humanities background, basic coding ability (C++/Java), and a fluent working command of English and native Chinese. I'm methodical, research-led, and calm under deadline — seeking scenic art roles in theatre.

A note on practice

Scenic painting is a craft of patience: measuring twice so you only paint once, mixing the old batch into the new so the colour stays continuous, lining straight under a paint-frame call. The work is technical, but it asks you to look at the stage lighting and the actor's distance from the cloth — to think about how a thing will be seen before you decide how it should be made. That's the part I love.

Selected Projects

  1. 2023

    Yinka Shonibare-inspired fantasy cloth · John Deakin, after Lucian Freud (1.5 m × 4 m scaled scenic)

  2. 2024

    Year 2: Manimajra Fort Gate · Year 1: Epsom Downs / Marble / Osbert / Little Women

  3. 2025

    Jack and the Beanstalk — Queen's Theatre Hornchurch (placement) · Betty Blue Eyes — scenic lettering (RCSSD)

  4. 2026

    Royal Opera House Workshop placement · PDT — Professional Development Term (final production)

Education

BA (Hons) Theatre Practice
Scenic Painting for Stage and Screen
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Expected July 2026

Skills

  • Scenic art — scaling-up & gridding, wet blending, black lining, washes & glazing, marbling & wood graining
  • Construction — scrimming, aggregate & sculptural texturing, foam build-up, sustainable material R&D
  • Digital — Photoshop & Procreate, Notion for research & recipe logs, AI-assisted reference
  • Languages — Chinese (native), English (fluent)