Mass. artist to teach landscape painting

This is an interview with nationally known instructor Caleb Stone, a Massachusetts landscape painter. Stone will teach a five-day outdoor painting workshop Monday through Friday. The class will meet on location at various sites in the Valley each day.

Bach: You are known nationally as a plein air artist. Have you always preferred painting outdoors on location versus painting in the studio?

Stone: As a child of seven, I carried the art equipment onto location for a dear friend who had extreme arthritis and she would advise me in watercolor painting. (Since then) I find my inspiration comes from the outdoors. I only paint indoors when I have to do finishing touch-ups or if there is inclimate weather.

Bach: How does painting outdoors affect the end product in your artwork?

Stone: Painting outdoors keeps me honest to the lighting and gets the best results.

Bach: When teaching outdoors, what are the biggest challenges?

Stone: Weather is always the biggest challenge. I have had to move a class indoors and work from a slide. Finding a suitable spot for the class can be challenging. I always do a demonstration first and have to hope the class likes the location, (so) they then do their work.

Bach: Where are some of the favorite places you have painted?

Stone: I live on Cape Ann in Massachusetts because it is one of my favorite places to paint. Italy, Ireland and Western U.S. are also on my list of favorite places. More recently I have been spending time in Puerto Rico and I do a lot of watercolors there, using a lot more veridian green (in my paintings).

Bach: Tell me about one of your watercolor plein air paintings that you really like and why.

Stone: A couple of years ago I went out to paint a watercolor of the boat yard in Essex, Mass. The season was winter with a fresh coat of snow that had fallen the night before. (With) the temperature at 23 degrees, I resorted to painting in my car with the heat set on high.

The mood of the day was beautiful, with a violet-gray sky and a scene of boats on the dry dock with (their) reflections in the water. The snow looked so white and clean. So my thought process was to leave the snow in my painting as the white of the paper and paint around all else with the moody colors and tone. It made me look at the negative space of the snow as if I was carving out the landscape, like a sculptor would in clay.

Bach: What about a special experience painting in another country?

Stone: Last December I received a commission to paint a watercolor of a scene from Vieques, Puerto Rico of cattle on top of a hill. The view was unusual, looking steeply upward, with little or no horizon. I like the way the sun lit up the landscape and cattle with a darker blue sky. The commission evolved (into) this watercolor painting in exchange for a week stay at the most gorgeous place on Vieques Island and the use of a vehicle. Somehow I feel that I got the better end of the trade, but he is happy, and I am happy, I guess that is all that matters.

Bach: Who is your biggest mentor?

Stone: My father, Don Stone, who is a member of the National Academy and the American Watercolor Society. When I was in high school, my father said to me, “I will pay you what they pay you at Burger King if you study with me and do two paintings a day. (He was) my father, teacher and boss. My father and I would go out painting (and I would) return to school for my remaining classes; then my father and I would go back out and paint a late afternoon painting.

Bach: Are there certain principles that he taught you?

Stone: My father always used to stress to me, as well as (to) his students, to take chances, not to be timid with the watercolors and try to put it down simply and boldly. He would remind me that it is only a piece of paper that cost less than 50 cents. My father would also stress to me to do a lot of value sketches (thumbnails) and think strongly into the basic design. He would say, “Paint your scene with as few shapes as needed, (that) this will make a stronger statement.”

Bach: Tell me about watercolor techniques that you use?

Stone: I try to capture the light and atmosphere and make good decisions of design. I try to keep it simple. A lot of times… I work in the scene from distance to foreground. That way there is a strong sense of space. Also in watercolor it lends itself to overlapping dark masses over light ones. I try to have the courage to put down the paint in the most strongest and richest value and color so I get it right the first time. The tendency is to paint too light and go over the same area with too many washes, which deadens the overall painting. By doing it with fewer washes it has a fresher look.

Bach: Do you have a preference over whether you are painting in oil or watercolor?

Stone: I enjoy painting in both mediums; some scenes look right for oils (and) others in watercolor. You can’t paint in watercolor if its below freezing. (On the other hand,) its easier to travel with my watercolors, due to drying time and portability.

Bach: Have you had experiences painting in bad weather?

Stone: I have painted in all types of severe weather. I love to paint snow scenes. I have painted when it is well below 0 (degrees). I have the right gear for it.

Bach: I understand this is your first trip to Alaska. Do you have a preconceived idea of the kinds of art scenes that you hope to capture?

Stone: I’m open-minded to the painting in Alaska. Can’t wait to see what’s there.

For information about the upcoming class with Caleb Stone, contact Suzanne Bach, Fine Arts Coordinator, at 745-9755 or sbach@matsu.alaska.edu or you may register at Mat-Su College, Mile 2, Trunk Road or on line at www.matsu.alaska.edu under Summer Schedule.