188 Color and Paint INTERVIEW SC: Do you have a specialty in scenic art? HJ: I don't think I really have a specialty in scenic art, although I do teach a lot of drop painting and I think that is one of my strengths ­ drops and moldings and architecture ­ those kinds of elements are a few things that I seem to be strong at. SC: In one sense, wouldn't you say that your specialty is teaching? HJ: You are very accurate in regards to the scene painting. I have really tried to focus on teaching that both as an art and as a craft because a great deal of it, I must admit, is simple skills. You need to learn how to stand up straight and draw a straight line with a bamboo and a lining stick. Anybody can do that; it's just learning the technique; it's a process, a craft. It is your eyes that are the art. It's what you can see and how you can develop a painting beyond the simple replication of the grid. SC: Who are some of the scenic artists that were influential in your development as a scenic artist? HJ: I was working at Missouri Rep with Jim Gold, who was a designer and an interior designer ­ I believe he started up going to the university, worked in theatre in New York for years. He Howard Jones , Resident Scenic Artist at the North Carolina School of the Arts Howard Jones is the director of scenic art at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He co-founded Cobalt Studios with Rachel Keebler in the late 1980s. Howard Jones is Interviewed by Susan Crabtree. Susan Crabtree: Tell us about your position at North Carolina. Howard Jones: The focus of my work is to teach a curriculum of scene painting and drafting for both the graduate and undergraduate students. The main focus is the scene painting and the three levels of painting that I teach over a period of years with my students. It's a lovely place for me to be because I have a great shop that is probably the envy of many professional shops. It is really set up to be focused toward large classes more than producing large amounts of scenery, although we do produce a great deal of scenery for the productions we produce at the school. Last year we did a