PC Gallery exhibiting kimono paintings

Paintings by John Sundstrum, an artist working out of his studio in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near Elderwood, will be on exhibit at Porterville College.

The show runs from Oct. 1 to 15. Gallery hours are from 12 to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday at the Porterville College Art Gallery, at Porterville College, 100 E. College Ave.

The exhibition features Sundstrum’s paintings of kimonos.

“Experimenting with relationships between ideas, materials, shapes, symbols and colors, I often take an idea into a multiple work ‘series,’ working out as many forms of the ideas I can,” he said.

Sundstrum earned his bachelors and masters degrees in Fine Art from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. In 1974 he joined a four-member team painting murals at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, California. Upon completion of the murals he was employed as a scenic artist for the television, theater, and motion picture industry, relocating in 1979 to Visalia where he was a scenic artist for the California Shakespeare Festival, during its seasonal productions and later under a California Arts Council grant producing the “Bard in the Box” — a traveling theater visiting schools in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

In 1980 Sundstrum began work as a teacher and art director at the Creative Center in Visalia while also designing sets for local theater. He is now a full-time studio artist devoting his time to the creative process.

“For me, observing is the key that begins the creative process,” Sundstrum said. “The process moves from that initial observation to planning and working through to the finish. The process is the work. At times the work is tough and laborious.  However, after the process plays out and I like what I see, all is worth it”.

When visiting the exhibition, visitors must contact the front desk upon arrival for a free temporary parking permit.

For more information, call Jim Entz at 791-2257.