The Feeling of Home

From a table outside JRB Art Gallery in Oklahoma City’s Paseo Arts District, Jamie Pettis prepares for the art festival season to begin as spectators admire her work that sparks conversations. For Pettis, art has never simply been about the finished work hanging on a wall, but rather the connection it creates. 

“The cool thing about art is just having a conversation in the gallery,” she says.

For an artist whose work is rooted in emotion, humanity and experience, conversation becomes another layer of the creative process. It’s fitting that Pettis has built a career around creating pieces that invite viewers to create their own interpretations. 

Born and raised in Holdenville, Pettis grew up between two very different versions of home. While much of her childhood was shaped by small-town Oklahoma, she also spent time living in Norman and later attended Norman North High School, where she played basketball under legendary coach Sherri Coale. Experiencing both environments expanded her understanding of the state she would later come to draw so much inspiration from.

But long before basketball or galleries entered the picture, art was already playing a predominant role in her life. Every weekend as a child, Pettis would spend time with her father at his art studio in Holdenville. A lawyer by profession and artist by passion, he worked extensively with Prismacolor, and unknowingly left an imprint on the way his daughter would eventually create.

“That’s where my original artistic journey started,” Pettis says. Even now, years later, she notices pieces of him appearing in her work. “My color scheme and materials are subconsciously similar to my father’s.”

Though she did not fully realize it growing up, those weekends watching him work planted seeds that would continue resurfacing throughout her life. Pettis had her first art show at just 6 years old, an early sign that creativity would always be part of her identity.

Still, art wasn’t the only thing calling her attention. Like many children with big dreams, she couldn’t decide on just one path. She played classical piano from a young age and imagined multiple versions of her future.

“I always wanted to be an actor, musician or artist,” she says with laughter. “I couldn’t decide.”

That same curiosity followed her into college when she enrolled at Oklahoma State University and pursued a degree in apparel design and production. Fashion initially seemed like the perfect combination of creativity and structure, but it didn’t take long for Pettis to realize her interest in fashion stemmed from her desire to create. 

“In pursuing this fashion degree, I found I was way more into the drawings,” she says.

While sewing and pattern making were never Pettis’ passion, fashion itself became an important influence that would later appear in her work. In high school, her first acrylic painting featured a Versace model wearing a black leather jacket, hinting at the portraiture and figure pieces that would eventually become staples in her work.

Her fashion studies would also lead her far beyond Oklahoma. As part of her degree requirements, Pettis needed a summer internship. Knowing she wanted exposure beyond her home state, she set her sights on New York City and one company in particular, Marc Jacobs.

At the time, she had never even been to New York. Rather than waiting for an opportunity to appear, Pettis created one. She traveled to the city and showed up at the Marc Jacobs corporate office looking for any opening she could find. During that visit, she met Joseph Carter, who remains the brand’s head designer today. Before leaving, she handed over some of her work and soon afterward was offered the internship.

After college, Pettis once again chose uncertainty over comfort, moving to Los Angeles without a job waiting for her. For a while, she pursued acting while moving among locales including Philadelphia, Phoenix, Connecticut, New York, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City.

Even in the midst of frequent relocations, one thing remained constant: “I always made art,” she says.

The experiences of constantly moving, meeting new people and recreating herself through different environments slowly reshaped her perspective. About 18 years ago, she made the decision to pursue painting seriously while supporting herself through multiple jobs. Seven years ago, she finally stepped into life as a full-time artist.

While exhibiting work at the LA Art Show, a man approached her table and offered her representation at Winn Slavin Fine Art on Rodeo Drive. Five years later, she remains represented by the gallery and continues expanding her reach through annual exhibitions.

Still, Pettis speaks about success with less interest in destinations and more interest in growth itself. “The cool thing about art is that it’s infinite,” she says. “If growth is infinite, if the universe is infinite, then what I get to create in my work is also infinite.”

To her, the act of painting itself matters far more than the result. “It’s an ever-evolving process. The process is everything. There’s no arrival spot.”

Pettis describes her work as “extremely colorful,” and says, “I like to push the boundaries with color.” In fact, the color choices are rarely deliberate in the traditional sense. “So much of the time the color is based on feeling.” Rather than planning every detail, Pettis allows instinct to guide her.

Her strong sense of emotion expands far beyond the creative process, and while many of her pieces explore themes surrounding humanity, she intentionally avoids assigning meanings to them. “I create the work for me, then I give it to my audience,” she says. Instead of explaining a piece, she often asks her viewers what they see in it.

Sports, however, remain one recurring influence she returns to often. Growing up as an athlete and lifelong Thunder fan naturally made athletics part of her work. As Pettis relaunches her brand, Brazen Wolf, she described it as her alter ego, where she often features sports figures and recently completed a portrait of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that sold immediately.

The piece included one of his quotes: “Basketball is a lot like life. You can’t cheat it. Whatever you put into it, you’ll get out of it.”

Finding inspiration in Gilgeous-Alexander’s words of wisdom, Pettis carries that same mentality with her every day. “I always push myself to keep proving my potential to myself,” Pettis says. “It doesn’t stop once you’ve achieved your biggest goals.”

After spending years wanting to leave Oklahoma and experience more of the world, it was distance that revealed how much home mattered. “I was the small-town girl that always wanted to leave,” she says. “I think it’s important to see the world, but Oklahoma has always been in my heart.”

After years of moving back and forth, she began recognizing an indescribable feeling. “There’s something I can’t put words to that is magical about Oklahoma,” she says. “The reason I can’t put words to it is because I simply feel it in my heart.”

Returning home consistently brought her back to herself. “When I’m in Oklahoma, I’m the most emotionally in tune with my work.”

As Oklahoma City continues growing through art, sports, music and film, Pettis feels grateful to be growing alongside it. “I’m proud to be from Oklahoma,” she says. “I am who I am today because I’m from Oklahoma.” 

And perhaps that connection explains why, sitting in the middle of the Paseo District surrounded by art and community, Pettis seems exactly where she belongs. Because for Jamie Pettis, creativity has never been a career choice. “For me, it’s like air,” she says. “It’s like water. It’s like food. I have to paint. I have to be creative, otherwise what am I doing here?” •