The Art of Maya
Chic Portraits Creating Immortality

Before the Music

Walking along the beautiful beaches of Southern California, you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of artist Maya Spielman photographing or painting one of her dazzling subjects by sunset. For 15 years now, Maya has been quickly gaining recognition as a highly credible fine artist with a particular focus on modern portraiture. Maya recognized the impact of portraiture from a very early age - her paintings have a modern uniqueness, coupled with the traditional and classical elements of her predecessors, which allow in her work a mystical and beautiful ideological vision of her subject.

Maya was born in the Jungle of Kaui in 1973. Later she moved to the mainland, traveled extensively through America and Europe and studied fine art painting at the Art Institute of Southern California, San Francisco Academy of Art, Palomar College and the Pacific Institute of Art and Design. Most notably were studies with renowned Neo-Mannerist Painter, Maestro Bruno D'Arcevia in Rome, Italy, while he was composing a portrait of Pope John Paul II.

Faces

Maya approaches her paintings from a Realist, almost Photo-Realist perspective with great attention to space value, skin tone and lighting. Her images are drawn from life; moments captured in an image rather than pre-planned poses. Similar to the Art-Deco painters of the 1920s (i.e. Tamara de Lempicka) Maya accentuates the strong individual features in her subjects with a streamlined elegance and sense of decadence in an effort to further explore the beauty of the human form. Maya intrigues her viewers by majestically presenting her subjects - installing in them a sense of power, style and grace that appear more like the stars of the silver-screen than people from everyday life. Maya is painting her subjects as a reflection of her own life, culture and experience. Maya shares with her collectors her own sense of strength, beauty and perspective.

Kate

Currently, Maya is preparing for shows at Coast Gallery in Laguna Beach as well as the Karen Lynne Gallery in Beverly Hills. Maya is also in the process of creating a hardcover book, "The Art of Maya," which will showcase a collection of her paintings and modeling photographs, as well as a foreword by art historian Christopher Forney. The book will be available for sale on her Web site and in galleries this winter. You can also view Maya's work at the BeachFire Restaurant and Pzaz Gallery on Del Mar.

In fall of 2006, Maya starred in "Don Clemente," a local history-based murder mystery dinner theatre production at the Blue Danube, which she also produced and co-wrote with partner, Rick Kerrigan. Opening October 14th, the cast performed to sold-out shows and rave reviews through December 2nd. Check the Web site, www.donclementeplay.com for details and to learn about the next dinner theatre production. Coming to the Blue Danube this Spring, "Miss San Clemente," another historical comedy about the actual Miss San Clemente pageants that occurred in San Clemente. Maya and Rick will also write, produce and star in the production.

Martini

But if you really want to find Maya, check out the local beaches. She is probably running, swimming, taking photographs or playing smashball.

Maya Spielman
www.mayagallery.com
949.735.5245

(South Coast Magazine - Winter 2006)