Stating that he has “always been artistic,” Sean Michael Chavez has been painting and drawing for as long as he can remember. Rendered in oil paint, Chavez’s compositions present distinctive takes on the land and people of the Southwest through a marriage of old and new. Frequently featuring Native American, cowboy, and Mexican subjects, Chavez’s work reminds viewers of past ways of life and traditions through a decidedly modern style. As Chavez notes, the resulting effect “is my unique vision and experience of being native to the Southwest and more specifically, to the beautiful place known as New Mexico.” Chavez finds a kinship with the land and states that New Mexico “is a place that is part of me more than anything else I can think of. I cannot help but express myself through it. We are one and the same.” Looking forward, Chavez hopes that, one day, his artwork might “inspire the next Dixon, the next Dunton, Couse, or Sharp . . . If that was my role, it would have been well worth living.”

paintingsofthewest.com