Artist Chad Pettit - painting weird things since 1993

Chad Pettit is an American artist living in Baltimore, Maryland. He spent much of his childhood exploring the vast amount of forest adjacent to his home on the lower Eastern Shore. Those years would influence his imagination when he attended Pennsylvania College of Art & Design and concentrated on painting.

After graduating from art school in 1993, Chad quickly established himself as a local artist after moving to Wilmington, NC by being awarded the Cape Fear Emerging Artist Grant the following year. Several of his paintings were displayed in local galleries and restaurants. During this time Chad began to refine the surfaces on which he painted, using 1/4” sanded plywood glued to wood frame.

Near the end of the 20th century Chad moved to Baltimore where he started his career as a decorative artist. This has led to working on projects of great historical value. This type of meticulous craftsmanship has inspired the artist in his own paintings.

“Every one of my paintings tells a story. I may not know what it is when I start, but there’s always that ‘ah ha!’ moment, then it’s just a matter of executing it.”