Look closely at the bottom right-hand corner of the colorful abstract paintings that line the walls of the Designs by Arenas gallery in Visalia and you'll find the signatures of not one, but two artists -- Dolores Witt and James Stark.

Each have earned notoriety for their individual creative talents (Witt as a cartoon animator and Stark as a rock 'n' roll photographer),  yet it wasn't until their paths crossed last year that they began dabbling in abstract painting.

"It's almost like a struggle, but what makes it fascinating is that it's so interwoven," Witt said. "Our tastes and our color sense and style, they mesh."

Witt began sharing her art with others when she was a teenager living in Los Angeles.

She sold drawings out of a studio on Beverly Boulevard until a customer came in and urged her to begin a career as an animator.

"Of course nobody came in except one man and I think he must have been an angel," she said.

That customer looked at her drawings and told her she should work for Walt Disney Studios, which is just what she did.

Initially, Witt worked as a messenger escorting celebrities like Carmen Miranda and Burl Ives into the studios. She even had the chance to meet Walt Disney himself.

"I rode in an elevator all by myself with him," she said. "His secretary's name was Dolores, just like mine."

Soon she landed a  job as an animator, drawing characters that were used in various animated films. A few years later she became an artist for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), drawing for "Tom & Jerry" cartoons.

After marrying she moved to the Valley and settled in Visalia where she lived with her second husband until he died six years ago.

She's continued to paint and take photographs and her portraits and florals have been shown several times at the Kings Art Center. In the Kings County Art League's Spring Art Show she won first place in the categories of photography and graphics in May.

Witt met Stark at a Visalia gallery almost a year ago, and the pair have been dating since.

He was born in Visalia but moved to San Francisco in the 1970s and photographed the burgeoning punk rock scene.  

His classic posters for the band "Crime" have become highly prized collector items and his photos have been published in several magazines, including "Rolling Stone."

More than 100 of his photographs also appear in his book, "Punk '77," which provides a behind-the-scenes look into the early punk scene.

He now lives on a farm in the small town of Sultana, Calif. where Witt said he can be his true self  -- "a country boy and a city boy."

They began painting together in May and now go back and forth, adding different colors and brush strokes to their shared canvases.

"I look at the bare canvas and think, 'What am I gonna do?'" she said. "Then he gets tired of waiting for me so he picks up a brush and goes swish swish and then we're off and going."

More than a dozen acrylic paintings will be displayed at the Designs by Arenas gallery beginning Saturday until Dec. 31. All of them will be for sale.

"I hate to brag about my own work, but as an artist you know when something's a success," Witt said. "I wouldn't mind keeping them and hanging them in my house."

--‘Come and Feel

the Passion’

‘Come and Feel the Passion’ features collaborative abstract paintings by Dolores Witt and James Stark

When: Opening reception Saturday from 6 - 8 p.m., exhibit runs through Dec. 31

Where: Designs by Arenas gallery, 208 W. Main St., Visalia

Info: Call 733-1981 for hours of operation

(Nov. 13, 2009)