When a winter storm flooded Helena Street in 2005, Jacqui Theobald saw the beauty in it and had to capture the image on canvas. Women waiting in a long line for the ladies room at a Springfield Flea Market end up being another subject to render in oil paint.

Of course, the artist also is showing the images typically considered art-worthy, like portraits of loved ones, sunsets and cityscapes.

"There's no time of day that is not beautiful; even a gray day has beauty in it," said Theobald, an art therapist who lives downtown in the Cooper Lofts with her husband, Jerry. "We love the community sense, the convenience, the beauty, and yes, the safety of downtown. I had an art therapy office in Liberty Tower for about 12 years, and I was never afraid working at night."

Theobald is presenting 35 works: oil paintings, six illustrated books and one pastel at the Dayton Convention Center.

She has four adult children and six grandchildren, and her love of family and community is evident. She is showing several portraits of her grandkids, and she highlights a 50-year marriage with nine portraits of Jerry from a young marine in 1956 to the present.

"Portraiture is a challenge I take seriously," Theobald said. "All of us have an inner essence of spirit not always apparent boned corset on the surface."

Theobald has a playful mindset for some of her works. "Sitting Still" is a nine-painting grid of her grandson, Owen, in various states of movement. "Play Ball" shows a downtown tennis court where she's added bits of collage: netting for the fence, and yellow felt 'tennis balls.'

The jewel tones in many of her cityscapes reveal her love for the city of Dayton.

"Walk the River West" romanticizes a view of the sunlit bridge, while "The 'Old' Public Market" highlights colorful produce and flowers when they were sold at Wayne and Fourth streets. "Bridge" shows the autumn foliage as a backdrop to the Peace Park footbridge.

"For me, bridges represent a connection to our inner thoughts and feelings, to other people, to our cultures, other times and other places," said Theobald. "But, most of Embroidered patches all, bridges connect us to humanity."

She has a bachelor's degree in art from the University of Iowa and a master's in art therapy from Wright State University. She is an adjunct professor at Sinclair Community College and a member of the Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors, Dayton Visual Arts Center, the Buckeye Art Therapy Association and the American Art Therapy Association.

Contact contributing arts writer Pamela Dillon at .

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