PIGMENTS OF MAIA'S IMAGINATION

PIGMENTS OF MAIA'S CREATIVE IMAGINATION

Close your eyes and inhale the spray blooms erupting below Mount Pinatubo’s peak. Conjure the exotic hues of Pele vaulting against a molten sunset. Or savor the ambrosia-sweet tides of dawn – perhaps then you’ll sense the mesmerizing moods of Maia—the artist, writer, humanitarian and businesswoman.

Maia has been drawing and painting since she discovered the magic of pencil and colors at a very young age. Raised in a close-knit family in the Philippines, she grew up in the shadows of a U.S. military base and the spirit of Mount Pinatubo. A prolific artist who draws energy from the beauty of nature, Maia has always taken on life with untiring passion. By the time she was eight years old, she was already writing and illustrating her own comic books. At 14, her first illustrated short story was published in a comic book in the Philippines. At 18, one of her stories was adapted for a TV drama series.

An array of exotic locales rise from the earthy textures of Maia’s latest painting collection while nestled in her cozy studio in California. Among her soulful paintings and drawings are wintry mountainscapes, quiet vistas, floral landscapes, and artful visions from her many travels. Most breathtaking are her volcano themes, intricately etched or carved and fired onto clay. With more than a thousand portraits, scenic renderings, and handmade collector ceramic vases in her repertoire, Maia’s versatility shines in an array of mediums: pencil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, gouache and oil.

"But pencil is still my favorite, "she says. "I grew up in a family of nine children, plus two cousins we raised for many years. It was almost too much for my father, the sole breadwinner, to feed, clothe, and send all of us to school. A painting set was a luxury I couldn’t burden my father with, so for a long time, pencil was my best friend in creating my artworks."

An extensive portfolio grew during her busy life as a department manager for a Fortune 100 company in the Pacific Northwest. In 1997, she shed her corporate persona to pursue her aspirations in art and writing. For nearly two years, Maia explored and hiked many of the Pacific Cascade Mountains. Among those peaks she has painted and carved onto clay vessels are Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, Mt. St. Helens, Mt Hood, and Mt. Adams.

Like a modern-day Georgia O’Keefe, this extraordinary artist has a zestful love for nature as a living, breathing jewel. The strokes of her brush are almost sensual. In a 1998 acrylic, Maia captured Mayon Volcano, foreshadowed by rustic villages harvesting their crops beneath a serene cobalt sky. A recent collection, the Serenity Series, features framed oils and acrylics, and framed and matted prints. When exploring the virtual galleries at her website, one has the sensation of entering a misty forest with Pinatubo On My Mind, or strolling along the foamy black sand as you hike down the craters of Mauna Loa with visions like Hawaii On My Mind.

A delicate fire kindles on the edge of a pristine grove and startling pink orchids, or a molten skyscape bursting over her easel board. Such lifelike beauty is bountiful in Maia’s original oil paintings: Whether drawing or painting for customers, or simply for the pleasure arising from the artwork, Maia’s landscapes and portraits capture the soul of her subjects.

Never far from a paintbrush or sketch pad, Maia hopes to paint and eventually climb every peak in the Ring of Fire. One day, she admits with a playful grin, she even plans to skydive into the cauldron of a live volcano.

An equally fiery ambition has been her struggle to bring attention to the plight of the indigenous tribes of the Philippines, such as the Aeta, long displaced since the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. In her activism, Maia has trekked the jungles more than once to live alongside the native peoples, to campaign for better living conditions, raise funds, and gain research for a book about the Aeta, whom her father traded goods with when she was a young girl.

As if she has just emerged from a classic portrait of a Polynesian beauty herself, she reflects on a series of illustrations done while enjoying the pristine Hawaiian cliffs and springs. "I’ve always loved the outdoors since I was a little girl," she coos with wanderlust in her brown eyes. "Thoughts of Hawaii conjure up images of azure water, towering palm trees curved skyward, tracing their graceful lines against the bleeding sunset sky, a moon over Waikiki, or a rainbow arching over downtown Honolulu, the lush greens and countless falls."

One of Maia’s favorite works is an oil painting of the City of Refuge,in Hawaii where she has spent leisurely hours reading, writing and painting. One can nearly step right into the tall huts surrounded by coconut palms and a steamy volcanic backdrop.

With a wide selection of personalized portraits and the immortalized memories of her customers, Maia’s art is a marvel of modern art juxtaposed with Renaissance revival. By far, though, it is Maia’s mastery of pencil that mesmerizes the onlooker. "I love the simplicity and elegance of pencil drawings," she admits, when asked about her portraits. "To me, they captivate in a way that is hard to describe in words because it is something inexplicably magical. It pleases me and excites me when my customers choose pencil portrait drawings – not because it is the most economical way to own my artwork, but because they also feel that certain pleasure that pencil drawings give."

Her watercolor My Parents’ Wedding was superbly captured from the only wedding photo of her parents she had – a warped, torn and soiled vestige. In yet another angelic portrait of her mother, painted in mixed media, Maia brings to the surface "an immense gratitude and pleasure for the God-given ability to immortalize a special moment in the life of an incredible person -- my mother."

A self-portrait she calls The Artist", reflects the modest, yet enigmatic charm of a once rugged tomboy grown up to be a lovely swan. The simplistic grace of the black-and-white pencil drawing unfolds like a rose, yielding timeless wander and mystery. Whether purchasing her exquisite pencil drawings, portrait paintings, original artworks, or her limited edition matted prints; one gains a unique gift of imagination.

Yes, Maia is art epitomized.

Gazing into the memory of her mother’s eyes, Maia seems to stroll back to a long ago reverie, daydreaming under a tree, near the smoldering heights of Taal Volcano. She wanders back to its misty peak, back to the eruption that first imbued her love for volcanoes ever after.

One day, if her wings lift high enough, she’ll soar into an azure sky, only to leap from a perfectly good plane and skydive into the mouth of a fiery cauldron.

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