03 Jan ARTIST SPOTLIGHTS: MAIA CHÁVEZ LARKIN

Maia Chávez Larkin simultaneously pays tribute to the past while looking to the future in oil-and-ink paintings of contemporary Western life. She achieves that challenging feat through a self-assured style that combines the restrained elegance of classic early- and mid-20th-century illustrators, the exuberance of greats like Charlie Russell, and her own clear-eyed admiration for today’s ranchers.

So, it may come as a surprise to learn that Larkin seriously committed to fine art only three years ago and was soon juried into top Western shows, including the Cowgirl Artists of America’s Cowgirl Gathering (2023 and 2024), the Mountain Oyster Club’s Contemporary Western Art Show and Sale (2023 and 2024), Small Works Great Wonders at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum this past November, and the Young Guns Art Show & Reception held in December as a prelude to the Coors Western Art Show & Sale, which just concluded in Denver. That’s not to mention a premier event this March at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. “I’m just working as fast as I possibly can,” she says. “From six o’clock in the morning until there’s no light anymore. I have so much on my list of things I want to paint that it’s mind-boggling.”

Room to Breathe | Oil on Canvas | 24 x 18 inches | 2023

Lest it seem that Larkin is some overnight sensation, it’s important to note her distinguished lineage and diligent efforts to hone her talents. Her late father, Edward Chávez, was a widely respected artist who painted public murals during the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s; and her mother, Eva Van Rijn, won acclaim as a landscape and wildlife painter. Maia grew up in the arts community of Woodstock, New York, and also spent childhood years in Taos, New Mexico, and the ranchlands of Southern Colorado.

But she initially channeled her own talents toward illustration, earning a certificate from the New York School of Interior Design in the early 1990s. She went on to a career that included ski and rodeo posters for Vail Valley and children’s fashion illustration. “Then, one day,” she says, “when my daughter was in high school, I made the decision to dedicate myself to fine art.”

Today, Larkin seeks inspiration on visits to “wild and remote horse and cattle ranches in Northern Colorado, where I’ll take thousands of photographs in just two or three days.” Back in her home studio on the front range just outside Denver, she’ll sort through those images, finding inspiration for such subjects as the fresh young cowgirl in Room to Breathe, which sold in a drawing to one of seven bidders at the most recent Mountain Oyster Club show, or the lone cowboy on horseback in Standing Watch — paintings that miraculously distill the timeless essence of Western life.

Standing Watch | Ink and Oil on Panel | 20 x 16 inches | 2024

Larkin’s work is represented by Kuehl Fine Art within the A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art in Trinidad, Colorado, or through her website at maiachavezlarkin.com. She’ll be participating in the First Strike Friday Night event at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana, from March 20 to 22.

Based in Marin County, California, Norman Kolpas is the author of more than 40 books and hundreds of articles. He also teaches nonfiction writing in The Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension.