By permission of the artist, The Cyber Art Show is pleased to feature the first of two 12-piece exhibitions of works by contemporary American landscape painter Mary Pettis (born 1953 in Minnesota, USA). 
 

Mary grew up on a country farm in southern Minnesota, where she followed the rhythm of the seasons: barefoot before the ground was dry in Spring, baling hay, feeding chickens, tromping through the sloughs and ravines and helping "put up" food for the large farm family. At fifteen, Mary discovered that painting seemed a natural means by which she could express her enjoyment and love of nature.

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While receiving a BFA in Art and in Humanities from the College of St. Benedict, Mary studied with Hungarian artist Bela Petheo at nearby St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. She excelled in advanced courses in Modern Composition and in Abstract Art at Mankato State University during the summer. She also did extensive research abroad in art museums from Amsterdam to Rome.

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Mary's love for the traditional style emerged in 1975 when she was accepted to a three-year full-time student apprenticeship in Classical Realism at Atelier Lack in Minneapolis, Minnesota. During that period, she also studied copperplate etching with C. Daniel Graves (founder and director of the Florence Academy of the Arts - Florence, Italy). Working daily from antique plaster casts and from the figure gave her a solid foundation and disciplined approach which would never leave her.

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Mary works mostly from life, using the Alla Prima or Direct Method of oil painting. Her lifetime in art is a journey reflected in hundreds of originals and thousands of reproductions and etchings collected in nearly every state and several countries.

 

She currently lives in the beautiful St. Croix National Scenic Riverway along the Wisconsin/Minnesota border. She shares her life with her husband, Randy, and their grown children, Matt, Nathaniel, Zach and Amanda Catherine.​

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Selected Exhibitions and Awards
 

• November 2016 - 12th Annual International Art Renewal Center's ARC Salon Competition, Third Place winner, Plein Air Magazine Award, Honorable Mention, Finalist

• November 2016 - The Mountain Oyster Club's 47th Annual Auction and Exhibition, Tucson, AZ

• October 2016 - EnPleinAir Texas Third National Juried Plein Air Exhibition, San Angelo, TX,  Texas Ranchland Award

• September 2016 - The Sedona Art Prize Finalist

• September 2016 - American Impressionist Society's 17th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Seattle, WA

• September 2016 to January 2018 - American Society of Marine Artists 17th Annual National Exhibition, Hosted by 6 Museums

• September 2016 -"Making Waves: An Exploration of the Maritime World of Art" Exhibition, Williamsburg Art Gallery, Williamsburg, VA

• August 2016 - Finalist in the Animal/Wildlife category of The Artist's Magazine 33rd Annual Art Competition

• July 2016 - Duluth Art Institute's "Paint Du Nord" Plein Air Event, Duluth, MN, Best Sense of Place Award

• July 2016 - "Truth in Nature" Plein Air Painting Exhibition, Ford Family Gallery: White Bear Center for the Arts, White Bear Lake, MN

• June to September 2016 - Outdoor Painters of Minnesota Exhibition of Plein Air Painting in Minnesota, MSP International Airport

• May 2016 - Oil Painters of America National Exhibition of Traditional Oils, Dallas, TX

• April 2016 - American Society of Marine Artists North Regional Exhibition, Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Winona, MN

• February 2016 – 11th Maui Plein Air Invitational, Lahaina, HI,  Pioneer Inn Award

• December 2015 - Finalist in the Animal/Wildlife category of The Artist's Magazine 32nd Annual Art Competition

• November 2015 - The Mountain Oyster Club's 46th Annual Auction and Exhibition, Tucson, AZ

• October 2015 - EnPleinAir Texas Second National Juried Plein Air Exhibition, San Angelo, TX,  Third Place winner

• September 2015 - BoldBrush Painting Competition Finalist

• August - September 2015 - Solo Exhibition titled "Time Stands Still", 39 paintings, Jaques Art Center, Aitkin, MN

• July 2015 - Duluth Art Institute's "Paint Du Nord" Plein Air Event, Duluth, MN

• May 2015 - Oil Painters of America National Exhibition of Traditional Oils, St. Augustine, FL 

• 2014/2015 - 11th Annual International Art Renewal Center's ARC Salon Competition Finalist

• April 2015 - Il Chiostro's 10th Annual Art Exhibit, Immagini: Images of Italy, Lambertville, NJ

• March 2015 - BoldBrush Painting Competition Finalist

• March 2015 - Il Chiostro's 10th Annual Art Exhibit, Immagini: Images of Italy, New York, NY

• February 2015 – 10th Maui Plein Air Invitational, Lahaina, HI,  Montage Kapalua Bay Award, King of Frame Award