David Sutton, a scenic artist living in Macon, stands on a scaffold outside the Cox Capitol Theatre, a Knight Arts grantee.

Sutton hard at work.

Even before filming for the movie “42” began in Macon, the buzz had begun on the streets. During filming, the movie’s stars were seen around town enjoying the cuisine at local eateries like Natalia’s and The Rookery. At the latter, good-sported Harrison Ford and Christopher Meloni joined in on a local tradition and signed the wall of their booth. Actor Alan Tudyk created quite a stir when he tweeted that he was bored and asked what was great about Macon. In response, many local citizens took to the Twittersphere to offer helpful advice. The general feeling was one of excitement that “Hollywood had come to town,” but for artist David Sutton, the filming brought a different kind of excitement — the kind that comes from a paycheck.

“Everyone seems to think everyone is from Hollywood, but they aren’t,” explained Sutton, who is a scenic artist living in Macon. “A lot are from here… We’re all union, 479 out of Georgia.”

Sutton was hired to paint the sets for the film. He said that he was one of two painters hired from Macon and that most of the people who worked on the film were not from Hollywood, but Atlanta. He wasn’t sure about the number of electricians, carpenters and other craftspeople from Macon specifically, but he did know that several locals had been cast as paid and unpaid extras.

The area around the theater was transformed by the film’s crew and scenic artists during filming.

Sutton is well known in the local art scene. His work is featured in local galleries and his paintings are in many private collections. While his work as a studio artist is popular, his work in art restoration and faux finishes is also renowned. Macon is rich with historical buildings and many of those buildings have had restoration work done at the hands of Sutton. His faux marble finishes inside the stunning sanctuary of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church are a marvel to tourists and parishioners alike. Before that, he had worked as a scenic artist and in art restoration.

“The economy got me back into it (scenic and set painting),” he explained. “The thing is, it’s all in Georgia now, so I don’t have to travel (out of state.)”

While the filming of “42” is only a temporary job, Sutton is hopeful that Macon will work to attract more films. Currently, Georgia is seeing a renaissance in shooting television, independent and feature films. It’s part of a statewide push to bring more filmmakers to Georgia, and it seems to be working. As a local scenic artist, Sutton hopes to see Macon become a hub for creative industries like filmmaking.

“If we do this right, we’ll get them here.”

Sutton and others work to repaint the theater after filming was completed.

Cox Capitol Theatre; 382 2nd St., Macon; 478-257-6391; www.coxcapitoltheatre.com