Karen L. Maness is the principal instructor of scenic art and figurative painting, and co-instructor for practical effects classes for Live Design at UT at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance. She is the Scenic Art Supervisor at Texas Performing Arts, directing the scenic art execution of all Department of Theatre and Art and Butler School of Music Opera productions. She has worked extensively in regional theatre, themed attractions, industrial display, and film. Ms. Maness studied studio art and set design at Whittier College in Los Angeles, continuing her studies at Cobalt Studios in White Lake, NY and the Florence Academy of Art. Her painting have been exhibited nationally and are held in private collections worldwide. She is a co-founder of Atelier Doja, Austin's new school of representational figurative painting. She is also a proponent of digital analog fluidity for artists, and hands-on, project-based interdisciplinary team collaborations. Ms. Maness is the co-author of the award-winning The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop. This book received the USITT Oscar G. Brocket Golden Pen Award (2018) and the UT at Austin Cohen Hamilton Faculty Literary Award runner-up (2017).