Stillwater Library Gallery Showcases Local Art By Nationally Recognized Painter

The Stillwater Public Library Gallery is featuring paintings by Mary Pettis during May and June in a continuing series of exhibits showcasing local artists’ work.

Pettis is recognized regionally and nationally for her classical approach to oil painting.

The current show, Abroad and Back: Selected Images From My Travels and My Back Yard, displays about 30 of Pettis’ paintings, with subject matter including landscapes and people in Russia, China, Hawaii and beyond.

Library Director Lynne Bertalmio, who is responsible for organizing the library’s shows and selecting artists, said she is confident Pettis’ work has elements that will appeal to just about everyone.

“Mary has been on our list for a long time,” she said. “She has a good reputation and her paintings have a lot of variety.”

That variety likely stems from Pettis’ wide range of artistic experiences. She received Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in art and humanities from the College of Saint Benedict, studied at Mankato State University and researched abroad in European museums. She also participated in a three-year apprenticeship in classical realism at Atelier Lack in Minneapolis.

“As I paint I get swept away by the symphony of artistic elements in front of me," Pettis stated on her Web site, "It is an honor to be able to share through my work those impulses which, more often than not, feel like expressions of private worship.”

But Pettis’ experiences and credentials alone were not enough to grant her a show at the library. It was also essential that she lived in the St. Croix valley.

Other qualified artists have not made the cut.

“We’ve had an artist from Minneapolis who was interested in doing a show here,” Bertalmio said, “but we had to say no because she wasn’t from the valley.”

The library has had the goal of showing only local work since the building was renovated in 2006. The design advisory committee, which was made up of the library board, staff and members of the public, wanted to create a space for local artists to display their work. Since the renovation was completed in 2007, the library has been hosting the artwork of a different local artist every one to two months.

According to Bertalmio, the library gallery does not spend any money to display the artwork. The artists hang their own work and receive 80 percent of the revenue from the show’s sales. The library keeps the other 20 percent, which Bertalmio says is a considerably smaller portion than many other galleries receive.

For those who want to learn more about Pettis’ work, the library and the Friday Study Club are holding a reception for the artist on Wednesday, June 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the gallery. The reception will include light refreshments and give the public an opportunity to meet Pettis and ask her questions.

Abroad and Back: Selected Images From My Travels and My Back Yard will run through the end of June. It is open during library hours and is free to the public.