Maura Petersen grew up surrounded by art. Her father, Roland Petersen, was one of

the founding art professors at the University of California Davis Art Department. Maura’s

childhood home was a collection of modern art, including sculptures and paintings by

Manuel Neri, Paul Wonner, Theophilus Brown, Ralph Johnson, Wayne Thiebaud, Ruth

Horsting, and Roland Petersen. When her family went on sabbatical to Europe during

the 1960s, Maura traveled to France where her artist father studied etching in studios in

Paris alongside artists, such as Joan Miro. Maura spent her free time viewing art works

at the Jeu de Paume, L’Orangerie, Rodin, and the Louvre museums. She also attended

her father’s art lectures in Paris and London.

Maura obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California Santa

Cruz in 1979 in the field of Russian Studies. She traveled to the former Soviet Union,

including Russia, Ukraine, Soviet Georgia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan on

several occasions for work and study. There she was exposed to Russian folk art and

the arts of Central Asia. Maura obtained her Juris Doctor degree from U.C. Davis in

1984 and specialized in Immigration and Naturalization Law. As an immigration

attorney, she helped artists obtain their permanent resident status in the United States

as artists of “Extraordinary Ability”.

Throughout her life, Maura has painted and drawn figures and landscapes. Guided

by her renowned artist father, Roland Petersen, she has developed her painting style,

which focuses on contrast of values, contrast of saturation, and push-pull. From 2017 to

2021, Maura studied art at Monterey Peninsula College and Cabrillo College in Northern

California. She focused on Color Theory, figure drawing/painting, and Design. From

2017 to 2021, she engaged in regular private painting sessions with painter Claire

Thorson, Art Department Chair at Cabrillo College. Maura has also studied art closely

with her father, Roland Petersen, for many years.

Maura paints in oils and acrylics. She uses oil paints for expansive, free-form subject

matter, and acrylics for more structured, prismatic motifs. She is fascinated by the figure

as it relates to the natural world and is equally drawn to the human figure in its complex,

fabricated environment. Both themes offer Maura the opportunity to explore the visual

magic of the human form as it interacts with the shapes and colors of life, and the contrasts of

light and shadows in our environment.