ART

Portola Art Gallery presents Visions of California, a welcoming exhibit of oil paintings by Jim Promessi, longtime Bay Area artist and Skyline College art professor. Selected paintings will show Promessi’s fascination with California’s beautiful and unique landscape, from the mountains to the coast.

“As a California native, I recall precious images from my childhood - clear sunny days with bright blue skies, green grasses, wildflowers and new green on the trees,” said Promessi. “Each spring, I am fortunate to revisit those images along the coast and inland areas, and as an artist I seek to record California’s magnificence.”

Promessi began exhibiting and competing while still a student at San Jose State University, with his first national juried exhibition at the 9th National Exhibition of Prints and Drawings in Oklahoma City, OK. His juried exhibitions in California museums include: The Phelen Awards at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco; the Triton Museum in Santa Clara; the Pioneer Museum and Haggin Art Gallery in Stockton; and the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.

Promessi paints in the traditional manner, and currently focuses on California landscapes, figurative and still life work. His favored mediums are oil on canvas and soft pastel on paper. His award-winning work has been featured in various publications, including Pastel Highlights and American Artists Publication, Collectors Edition. American Artist Magazine awarded him the Grand Prize in their National Competition commemorating their 60th year in print. Promessi is a member of Oil Painters of America and the California Art Club.