About Maia Chavez Larkin Fine Art

Because my medium and style are unusual, I am often asked about the process I employ. Here, then, is an explanation. 

As the child of a family of artists, I have many Western artists on my list of influences, but my greatest inspirations have been early illustrations and etchings of the West. This list includes book illustrations and National Park posters as well as classics like Russell, Remington and Seltzer.

I myself worked as an illustrator for over a decade. After studying hand drafting, color mixing and architectural rendering at the New York School of Interior Design, I went on to work as an architectural, botanical and fashion illustrator, as well as creating rodeo and ski posters for Vail Resorts in the ‘90s. I also studied painting and drawing with the Woodstock School of Art and Il Chiostro in Italy. 

When I moved from illustration to Western art in 2021, I had worked in ink and watercolor for so many years that I already had a style. I wanted to see if that style could translate to a more durable medium that didn’t need to be framed behind UV protective glass. It took some time to develop that medium, and the process of using oil washes combined with ink to create a similar look required a couple of years of experimentation. 

To this day, I use many of my old architectural drafting tools when creating studies for my paintings. Each painting begins with one (or two, or three) studies, usually using my lead holder and drafting leads, and finished in pigma micron pen on toned paper in grey or tan. I then translate the study onto a larger canvas, often adjusting the placement and focus as I go. 

Once on canvas (I like a particularly smooth canvas or panel), I work in a combination of graphite, ink, oil-based paint pens, and traditional oil paint. Each painting involves various layers of transparent oil washes interspersed with ink drawings, each layer needing to dry before the next is applied. I use workable fixative to increase the stability of the graphite and ink at each stage, and once the oil paint is fully dry each piece is ultimately finished with a matte finish UV protective varnish.