She applied traditional techniques while exploring elements of composition, palette, and minor abstractions of space and paint to create paintings and illustrations which were described by The Seattle Times as "calling to mind the Old Masters" with a "distinctly surrealist sensibility.
"[2][3] Born in Hemet, California, Sundsten's family moved to the Seattle area when she was three.
Sundsten's interest was in representational painting, a style which was discouraged in her undergraduate program, and after seeing an Odd Nerdrum exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, she traveled to Oslo to study with him.
"[7] Sundsten taught at Stanford University, the Pratt Institute, and Cornish College of the Arts.
[5] Sundsten, who played bass for the art-punk Seattle band The Beakers, was married to King Crimson drummer Bill Rieflin.