Inspired by music, friendship, family, and vintage culture, Maria creates vibrant paintings that invite viewers to discover their own meaning in each canvas.
Some artists begin with a concept.
Others begin with a feeling.
For Maria, better known online as Foxy Painter, creativity often starts with a song playing at full volume through a speaker, a burst of energy filling the room, and the desire to translate emotion into color.
At a recent New York group exhibition, Maria presented four paintings that reflected both her playful visual style and her interest in storytelling. Filled with vibrant colors, cultural references, and personal inspiration, the works immediately attract attention. Yet beneath the bright surfaces lies something deeper. Each painting carries its own narrative, inviting viewers to spend time with the work and uncover new meanings.
One of the featured pieces, Not My Job, was inspired by a song from the British girl group Flo that had become permanently stuck in Maria’s head. The painting incorporates lyrics directly onto the canvas while exploring themes of independence, self-worth, and the rejection of expectations often placed on women. It is both personal and universal, transforming a pop culture reference into a statement about empowerment.
Another pair of works, titled Lejos, tells a different story. The paintings depict two lovers separated by the Atlantic Ocean, one living in New York and the other in London. Romantic and cinematic, the pieces explore longing, connection, and the emotional reality of long-distance relationships.
Then there is Tyra, inspired by the iconic image of supermodel Tyra Banks wearing soda cans as hair rollers. The photograph has circulated online for years and has become part of popular visual culture. Maria saw an opportunity to reinterpret the image through her own artistic lens.
What makes the painting particularly remarkable is the timeline.
Feeling that she had been exhibiting similar work repeatedly, Maria challenged herself to create something entirely new in less than a week. Working under pressure, she completed the piece in just five days.
The experience reinforced something she had already begun to suspect about herself.
She thrives under deadlines.
Rather than becoming overwhelmed, she channels urgency into productivity. The challenge pushed her to work quickly, trust her instincts, and embrace imperfections while still producing a piece she remains proud of.
That willingness to experiment reflects her broader creative philosophy.
Maria does not believe there is a single path toward making art. Instead, she approaches creativity as an ongoing conversation between herself and the people she trusts most.
Friends play a central role in her process.
Many of them work in creative fields—as artists, designers, and graphic designers. From the earliest stages of an idea through the final details of a finished painting, Maria actively seeks feedback. Color choices, compositions, concepts, and visual direction often develop through conversations with her creative circle.
For her, art is rarely created in isolation.
Even when she is physically painting alone, there is an invisible community helping shape the work.
Outside of those personal relationships, inspiration arrives from many sources. Vintage magazines discovered at flea markets, images collected online, Pinterest boards, music, and everyday life all become ingredients in her visual language.
The result is artwork that feels contemporary while maintaining a strong connection to the past.
That balance is intentional.
Maria is particularly drawn to imagery from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Fashion, advertising, celebrity culture, and vintage aesthetics frequently appear throughout her work, reimagined through bold color palettes and modern perspectives.
If there is one element she considers essential to her creative process, however, it is music.
Painting without music is almost unimaginable.
Sharing an apartment with her cousin, Maria often fills the space with songs blasting through an Alexa speaker connected to Spotify. The soundtrack changes, but the ritual remains constant. Music provides momentum, energy, and emotional direction.
It is the fuel behind the brushstrokes.
Her Latino heritage plays an important role in shaping that musical landscape. Spanish-language music often accompanies her creative sessions, adding rhythm and movement to the process. Whether dancing while painting or editing videos of her work, music remains inseparable from her artistic identity.
Creativity, however, extends beyond the studio.
Maria works full-time in marketing, a profession that keeps her immersed in a creative environment even when she is not painting. Ideas are constantly circulating. Conversations with other creative professionals, campaigns, design projects, and visual culture all contribute to a mindset that rarely switches off completely.
The challenge is finding balance.
Like many artists, Maria understands the importance of rest. She enjoys taking time away from painting, yet she also acknowledges the familiar feeling of guilt that often accompanies creative ambition. The desire to keep growing, improving, and creating can make stepping away difficult.
Still, she recognizes that sustainable creativity requires both work and recovery.
Among the most important influences in her life is her mother.
An artist herself, Maria’s mother introduced her to techniques, materials, surfaces, and creative possibilities at an early age. From different types of canvases to experimental textures and approaches, much of Maria’s artistic foundation can be traced back to those early lessons.
Even today, her mother remains one of her most trusted sources of feedback.
The relationship highlights a theme that appears repeatedly throughout Maria’s story: creativity is built through connection.
Friends inspire her work.
Family guides her creative journey.
Music motivates her practice.
Viewers contribute their own interpretations.
That final element is particularly important.
Maria enjoys watching people engage with her work before approaching them to start conversations. She loves hearing how others interpret the paintings because those interpretations often differ from her original intentions.
A painting may begin with one story, but once it enters the world, it becomes something larger.
Every viewer brings their own experiences, memories, and emotions to the image.
In that sense, Maria’s paintings function as invitations rather than conclusions.
They are colorful, joyful, and visually engaging at first glance. But the longer someone stands in front of them, the more layers begin to emerge.
The stories remain open.
The meaning remains personal.
And perhaps that is exactly what makes the work so compelling.
About Tarik Talk Podcast
Tarik Talk Podcast takes listeners inside museums, galleries, artist studios, art fairs, and creative spaces around the world through conversations with artists, curators, collectors, cultural leaders, and creative professionals. Hosted by artist and podcaster Tarik Mendes, the show has featured more than 200 episodes across 50 seasons, filmed in over 10 countries and heard by audiences worldwide.