Washington Township artist has work on exhibit at The Medical Center at Princeton.
By: Mark Moffa
Washington artist has work
on exhibit at medical center
Picture perfect
Staff photos by Phil McAuliffeDeborah Paglione of Washington Township with some of her artwork on display at The Medical Center at Princeton.
Perfect
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Mark MoffaStaff Writer
A solitary oak in a Princeton park. A woman having tea on a rainy Paris day. A lone man walking along the water’s edge on a Dominican beach.
Deborah Paglione, a 29-year Washington resident, sees art wherever she goes. Appropriately, she takes her camera wherever she goes, too.
"If I see something interesting, I’ll design it with the camera," she said. Then, if it’s appealing, she’ll design it on canvas.
A picture of the famed Mercer Oak in Princeton’s Battlefield Park from 1995 is a perfect example. A picture of the weathered tree which was felled by high winds two years ago is displayed in the cafeteria at The Medical Center at Princeton, along with 31 other pictures, watercolors, and prints by Ms. Paglione.
"Lightning had taken a chunk out of it," she said of the tree, under which a wounded Gen. Hugh Mercer rested during the Battle of Princeton. "That made it even more interesting."
It was intriguing enough to warrant a watercolor painting. The photograph and watercolor of the tree are part of an exhibit at the hospital that will be up until March 13. All of the items are for sale, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the hospital.
Hospital officials asked Ms. Paglione if she would be interested in doing an exhibit. They already were familiar with her work, as are many people in New Jersey.
Ms. Paglione heads the Garden State Watercolor Society and the Washington Township Arts Council.
The council arranges art and photo exhibits, coffeehouses, and other performances in Washington. It also offers an annual scholarship for a township child to attend a weeklong theater program at Mercer County Community College.
The 400-member watercolor society arranges exhibits throughout the state. Its next one in Trenton is for members only, but an exhibit later this year at Rider University is open to the public; that show will be judged and there are more than $7,000 in prizes available, Ms. Paglione said.
As for Ms. Paglione, her work has been displayed throughout the state at places such as the New Jersey State Museum and the Princeton Arts Council. She has photographs and paintings displayed as far away as Florida, California, and even England.
Art, she said, is a curse.
"My husband keeps asking me if I’m happy," she said. "I enjoy everything I do."
Ms. Paglione said she derives happiness out of her involvement with the art organizations she leads. "I’m able to be on these boards and make a difference in the community," she said.
Putting shows together, she added, gives others an opportunity to display their work. "A lot of people usually don’t know where to go with everything," Ms. Paglione said.
Asked if she considers herself successful, she hesitated, then said yes, with a caveat.
"I feel successful because I’m happily married and I have a nice son," she said. But her free-lance artwork, she said, is not a financial success.
Ms. Paglione is lucky, and she admits it. She is lucky to have the financial support that allows her to pursue her passion.
"I’ve been lucky to go to a lot of different places that inspire me and inspire my paintings," she added. This is evident through her artwork, which depicts local scenes and locales from foreign travels.
One key to being successful in life, many would argue, is knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Ms. Paglione seems to have that figured out.
She has an eye for a breathtaking photograph, and also can take that photo and create a watercolor or acrylic painting. In fact, many of her paintings originally were photos.
Ms. Paglione said this talent comes in handy when a photo just won’t come out as intended. For example, she said, it was impossible to achieve the perfect lighting in a shot of the Arno River she framed out of a window of the Excelsior Hotel in Florence, Italy. The photos were either too dark or too light.
"I can take both of those photographs and encapsulate them into one beautiful painting," she said. This painting is included in the hospital’s current exhibit.
But patience is not a virtue for Ms. Paglione.
"I get bored very easily with things," she admitted. "If I spend more than two days on a painting, that’s a lot for me."
Art is life for Ms. Paglione. In addition to all of her volunteer time with the Garden State Watercolor Society and the township arts council, she does make an occasional dollar painting murals and doing interior decorative painting.
Ms. Paglione said she enjoys "enticing" people into the arts and encouraging aspiring artists to explore their own possibilities.
But she has an additional piece of practical advice for anyone wishing to become an artist: Get as much education as possible.
"I think it’s important to have a four-year degree," Ms. Paglione said. It is important, she said, to have something on which to fall back just in case your work doesn’t generate enough money to make a living.
Nevertheless, artists are special, she said.
"We make a difference in people’s lives," she said. "We add a sense of tranquillity to people’s lives.
"Art speaks volumes for what’s going on in the world."
From the World Trade Center photographs to the watercolor of the Sayen Gardens in Hamilton, Ms. Paglione’s artwork speaks for itself.
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