Barbara Stone received her BS Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. After moving to Cape Cod in 1989 she entered the Scientific and Technical Illustration Program at the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a CE Foundation Certificate. While working as a teacher, Barbara continued to take art classes featuring all types of mediums, but she found her passion when she enrolled in a pastel workshop.

"Color is my primary motivation to paint. The vast array of choices of pastel shades and textures continue to be my medium of choice. I love the boxes of reds, yellows and blues … all with different values vibrating next to each other beckoning me to paint. The ever-changing light and its play on the beautiful landscapes of Cape Cod and New England are perfect subjects for pastel paintings. Captivating compositions of the landforms unfold as colors are added onto the paper.

"Museum-grade Wallis paper with a pastel and alcohol wash are the first steps to my paintings. The color choices are intuitive - - a combination of years of experience with the tenets of color theory swirled in. Darkest darks and lightest lights push this journey along as each painting's exploration continues. The lyrical interplay of strokes are personally expressed as the pastels are layered onto the surface until the painting's basic composition, color temperature and values are fully developed into bright, beautiful and bold expressions of nature."

In the past six years, Barbara Stone's work has been exhibited in shows throughout Cape Cod. Selected awards include People's Choice awards in 2004 and 2005 at the Annual Members Show of the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod (PPSCC) and First Place in the Cape Cod Art Association's 2004 Open Winter Show.

Since 2005 Ms. Stone has served as President of the PPSCC and is an Artist Mentor in the Cape Cod Museum of Art's Art Education Program.