Former Poway resident showcases spiritual artwork at PCPA
A collection of artwork chronicling the spiritual journey of Christ is on display this month at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts.
Painted by former Poway resident and fine artist Cloyd Bedke, the collection of 24 oil paintings will be on display through Thursday, Oct. 29.
There will be a reception at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 featuring the artist. The reception is free and open to the public.
This series of paintings, which took over three years to complete, tells the story of the spiritual journey of Jesus Christ. “My whole life, I hadn’t done anything significant (with my art),” said Bedke. “I wanted to a take a theme all the way through, and there’s no better story you can tell than the story of Christ.”
Bedke said he was inspired after studying the historical time period when Christ was said to have lived. “A lot of the story (in the series of paintings) is about the times and doesn’t involve Christ himself,” said Bedke.
Bedke said he hopes to tour with the series. “I’m happy with what I did,” he said. “The PCPA wanted me there, and I want to take them to other places as kind of a moving show.” Bedke said the challenge is finding places large enough to display the entire series of paintings. Many of the paintings are large, which makes it more difficult to find spaces that can accommodate the entire series. Bedke said, however, that there are two locations he is looking at to display the series next.
None of the series is for sale, though Bedke will also be displaying a recent series of watercolors on the PCPA’s second floor that will be available for purchase.
Bedke moved to Poway in 1970 and lived there until 2005, when he moved to Fallbrook. He now lives with his family in Temecula.
A former commercial artist in Chicago, Bedke turned to fine art full time in 1996, after retiring from the advertising business. “I had an advertising agency in San Diego for 30 years,” said Bedke, “but I phased that out about 15 years ago.”
In addition to painting, Bedke is working on a book about his family, which includes his ten children. “It’s a yours, mine and ours family,” said Bedke. “I’m getting ready to publish.”
The gallery at the PCPA is open for public viewing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. It is closed Sunday and Monday.
Viewing art is free; during the week, parking passes can be obtained in the PCPA’s lobby.
For more information on the show, visit www.powaycenter.com or call 858-668-4693.