Maria Arvayo

I’m an artist, painter, and teacher. I’m a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, a native Arizonan and reside in Tucson. II consider myself primarily a painter and work in a variety of 2-D media including but not limited to; oils, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, and encaustic. I have a BA in studio Art and have been exhibiting and teaching locally for about 20 years.

My work is pretty varied in media and subject matter. I like to experiment, and sometimes an idea calls for an expression in a specific media. My images consist of the Southwest landscape, some still lifes, figures and abstracts.

My most recent work consists mostly of the local landscape, earth and sky. I am in love with the quality of light in the southwest and through my work endeavor to share this love and appreciation.

A new project I’m working on focuses on portraits depicting contemporary Native Americans in an effort to bring an awareness to the presence and reality of Native Americans in society. I’ve received support for this project from the Tucson and Southern Arizona Arts Foundation and am looking at other sources for additional funding.