Larisa Aukon doesn’t believe in following the rules. She believes in breaking them.

Born in Latvia, Aukon was accepted into an art school for gifted children when she was 12 years old. For the next six years, she took as many as 20 art lessons per week. She went on to earn her master’s degree from the Art Academy of Latvia, where she received classical training as a painter.

But when she traveled to the Southwest United States for the first time, everything changed. The colors and landscape deeply resonated with her. She moved to Arizona 20 years ago and spends her time traveling the Four Corners region, capturing the colors and textures of the landscape with oil paints.

Aukon will debut 10 new paintings inspired by Sedona during Color Outside the Box on Friday, Nov. 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Rowe Fine Art Gallery. The show continues Saturday, Nov. 4, from 1 to 4 p.m. when she returns to the gallery to give a live demonstration of her painting techniques.

“When I’m part of a show, it allows me to detach from my paintings,” Aukon said. “At home, I’m very close to the work — very attached to it. When I hang the piece on the wall in a gallery, it becomes independent, and that’s interesting to see. I wind up discovering my own work through the eyes of others.”

All of the paintings she will unveil at Rowe Fine Art Gallery were created in the last year. Aukon said she traveled to Sedona every chance she got, and her new pieces pay homage to Sedona’s fall colors, the tranquility of West Fork and the changing light on the red rocks. Come to the gallery Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3 and 4, to witness her talent in person.

Rowe Fine Art Gallery represents traditional and contemporary Southwestern artists. The gallery, located under the bell tower in Patio de las Campanas at Tlaquepaque is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 282-8877 or visit rowegallery.com for more information.