“I like to compete in the American Watercolor Society and Ohio Watercolor; there are also many contests in this area,” said Paden, a Lima native who lives in Springfield. “The next one coming up is Tri-Arts, and then the Western Watercolor will be at Tri County Gallery.”
Paden has a lot of interesting stories behind her works, which represent slices of life she captures with her camera and then paints in her studio.
“Peace School Pals” shows four grinning boys with their arms around each other, but that’s not how Paden found them. She helps out with Peace Camp in Springfield, where 200 kids are brought in, with 145 adults to teach conflict resolution and care of the earth.
“I go in early and watch the kids in the gym. These boys were getting really rough, shoving and body checking,” Paden said. “I came across the gym floor shaking my fist at them, saying, ‘If you boys don’t settle down, I’m going to...’ Then I thought, ‘Wait a minute. This is Peace School. I can’t threaten to bop them up the side of their heads.’ So then I said, ‘or else I’m going to take your picture.’ ”
The group settled right down and posed for her. Others don’t know she’s watching, like the couple eating dinner in “Here, Honey.” The woman is sharing her cherry tomatoes from her salad with her companion.
In addition to people and still lifes, she is showing landscapes. One of my favorites is “Center Street,” which is an example of the vignette technique. The image of the Victorian home bleeds off gradually toward the edges.
Paden is a graduate of the Ohio State University, a mother of three and grandmother of seven. She’s a retired teacher and CPA, and has been painting watercolors since 1993.
Contact contributing arts writer Pamela Dillon at pamdillon@woh.rr.com.
How to go
What: Watercolors by Judy Paden
Where: Dayton Convention Center, Second Floor Gallery, 22 E. Fifth St.
When: Continues through June 30. Reception 6 to 8 p.m. May 14
Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Information: (937) 322-2168 or www. daytondsps.org.
About the Author