If you've been following me for a while, you may know that both of my parents are artists. My mom died 10 years ago, and each year on her birthday I post one of her paintings. Every time I share her work, I get requests to purchase prints, and messages of praise for her beautiful art. I'm happy to have partnered with Fine Art America to share and produce fine art prints, canvases, and framed images of her work along with a few select gift items. With Mother's Day around the corner, this seems like the PERFECT time to share my mother's art with you...and maybe find a little something for your mom (or yourself) too! 
Growing up, my mom was constantly painting. It wasn't a hobby, it was her career and life-long love. She pretty much painted every single day, and I would watch the slow and steady progress from the photographs she took in her own garden and on her travels, to drawing on velum and transferring on canvas, to painting the intricate details and refining her subjects in oils and watercolors. 
My mom taught me how to see. I know that sounds strange, as sight is something we just have, not anything we learn, but in her case, she saw things that most people don't. She would show me a photograph of a grey, bland ocean...nothing special...and she would say, "Ooh, look at those lavender halos around each drop! Do you see the aquamarine color in the distance and the citrine along the horizon?" I would look at that grey photograph and think she was crazy! But then she would paint it, and yes, those drops were shimmering,,,and her painting somehow looked like the photograph, but better....like she could capture the essence of that moment, and all of the ephemeral nuances that our eyes can so easily miss. 
And so, although I didn't realize it at the time, my mom was giving me a rare gift. And now, when I look at laces, and choose threads for embroidery...imagining how this shade of green or blush or rose will look paired with the other, how the blossoms and leaves will intertwine and follow along a dress, I see the way my mom did.
You know how they say that our loved ones never really leave us...that their spirit lives on inside us? Well, I think I'm kind of proof of that. I'm so lucky to have many of my mom's paintings, and lucky to have been raised by a creative, insightful woman, and I'm so grateful for the gifts she continues to give me. I hope that you will also enjoy giving and receiving these beautiful glimpses of nature's beauty...and don't forget Mother's Day is May 9th, so order now!
For purchases made of Shirley Pettibone Fine Art, we will donate 10% of the proceeds to EarthJustice to help protect the natural beauty of our Mother Earth that my mom so dearly loved.
All artwork by Shirley Pettibone
Gowns by Claire Pettibone
Fashion Photos by Lucy Munoz
3 comments
I studied under your mother, Shirley Pettibone, at UCI while a studio arts major during 1973-75.
During that time I was fortunate to have teachers the likes of Craig Kauffman, John Paul Jones, Bas Jan Ader, Ed Bereal, Eleanor Antin and your mother. As contemporary art does, it is constantly pushing and refining into new realms. Yet, there was your soft spoken mother urging us as student to look at what is simply in front of us; the images of nature, the details, the colors and the forms. Her teaching have stayed with me in my own art ever since. It was a delightful surprise to find your post and see that her creativity lives on through your beautiful work. – Barry Rouxel-Berg
What an amazing artist your Mom was Claire. I loved reading this so very much and thank you with all my heart for sharing such beauty produced by two exceptionally wonderful women 🌸💕🌸💕🌸
Stunning!