Ladd joins Arts Advisory Committee in Hot Springs

Local artist Judy Ladd was recently appointed by the Hot Springs Board of Directors to serve on the Arts Advisory Committee for the City of Hot Springs.  The nine-member committee reviews and recommends placement of permanent art at publicly-owned facilities in the city; helps organize and promote temporary art exhibits at publicly-owned facilities; and helps secure private grant funding and art donations for permanent art displays at public buildings and facilities.

Ladd began her artistic training as a young child, redrawing pictures from comic books. This gave her the ability to achieve the perspective and depth of a commercial artist.  Copying comic books showed her how to draw foreshortened hands and legs, thereby accomplishing the difficult act of drawing figures in action. By understanding the relationship of an object as seen from different positions, she is able to draw from memory many images that a less proficient artist would need a live model to accomplish.

Ladd entered and won her first art contest as an eighth grader at Lakeside School in Hot Springs.  With no formal art classes available locally, she continued her self-study, examining and drawing anything that caught her eye. As with most young girls, she was attracted to movie stars and copied their portraits from available magazines.

After moving to Arizona, Ladd was encouraged by a high school instructor to attend extension classes from the University of Arizona at Tucson. She attended more art classes at West Phoenix High School and won her first statewide award with a pen and ink drawing.

After graduation, Ladd lived in Dallas, Texas, and several New Mexico towns, painting interesting places that appealed to her.  She enrolled in the University of Houston at Houston, Texas, majoring in geology and minoring in art, and taking private art lessons from renowned Houston artist Dick Turner.

Ladd’s paintings have been accepted into many juried art contests, including the New Mexico State Fair.  As Honorable Mention winner of an art contest held during Texas’ sesquicentennial celebration, Ladd’s design was displayed along a major Houston parkway.

Now a Hot Springs resident, Ladd is currently updating her portfolio and will soon be showing more current works.