Biography

Cornish was the alternative of all alternative art environments educating the likes of John Cage and the Northwest mystic artists i.e. Mark Tobey and Morris Graves. In the 70’s for the few years Claudia was at Cornish School of Art, it was just a group of kids creating some of the most innovative and talented work around. Printmaking was hot then in Seattle, and she learned everything from classic Japanese woodcut to photo etch on giant wood or metal plates in a back barn like shed. Now this space has been torn down to give way to accredited art school. Mentored at Gage by professional artists in the 1990’s, Claudia changed the way she used materials and slowed her approach. The entire history of great art weighed heavily on my mind. At this time in her life, Claudia was lucky to work with some of the great painters and sculptors of our time. After sharing studio space in Seattle with close friends, Claudia relocated to her family (1925) estate on Whidbey Island, where she built her present studio in 2010 with a view centered on Mutiny Bay.

STATEMENT

I am Claudia Pettis, artist and sculptor working in the best of all possible studios on a farm on Whidbey Island. As a young child I knew with absolute clarity I was a farmer and that that defined me beyond all else. I paint to describe that experience.

As a shepherd, I care how we manage our lands and take care of our most ancient grazers, the sheep. I paint them to remember a time when small farms were sustainable and the land and air were clear.

I am a shepherd and an artist. I paint the sheep movements and faces as tenderly as I believe I would paint the portrait of a nobleman in the 16th century. I studied Renaissance painting – the Rembrandt workshop, the light of Vermeer, raw pigments more precious than gold. Materials are important to me, from the Belgian hand-woven linen to the rabbit skin glue. The process I use of stretching and preparing my own linen is the same as the coveted European gild secrets held for centuries. I am indebted to Matisse, Rembrandt, and Cezanne for my daily inspiration. I paint to remember a familiar place and paint the beauty of that time.