During the early 1970’s Maxie spent much of his time away from Papunya. Enrolling in a health workers course in Darwin, and working various labouring jobs provided Maxie with a broad spectrum of experiences of main stream Australian culture. Combined with his broad knowledge of traditional living Maxie has much to draw upon. 

In the late 1970's he moved back to Papunya, working as a tractor driver, bus driver and police tracker, when in 1980 under the expert instruction of Old Mick Japaltjarri he took up painting. Old Mick passed on his passion for painting to Maxi who had a natural ability to paint and tell the Dreamtime Stories had a natural ability to paint and tell the Dreamtime stories through his work. His usual subjects being the, Flying Ant Dreaming and Woman's Dreaming as well as the Bushfire Dreaming. Other influential artists in Maxie’s development include Eunice and sister Pansy Napangardi, two prominent female artists. 

Maxie’s first claim to fame was not particularly pleasant for this quiet man, as his victory in the contemporary art section of the Northern Territory Art Awards in 1984 set the stage for a bout of controversy. Local non Aboriginal artists were disturbed by his win, considering his art to be “folk art, not fine art”. They considered themselves to be excluded from Aboriginal art competitions, their argument being that the contemporary art section of the competition was an open competition and not culturally specific. In effect, Maxie’s ‘Happenings at Leibig’ made a major contribution to the opening up of the art scene, to include Aboriginal art in major competitions around Australia. Born: c.1945 -1997 People: Warlpiri/Luritja Language: Warlpiri Area:Haasts Bluff, Watunuma, Waite Creek Maxi Jampitjinpa Photographs and text copyright of Jinta Desert Art 1997.

 In 1984 Maxi won the Northern Territory Art Award which enhanced his reputation as one of the leading artists of the Aboriginal Art Movement. 

From the 1980’s he based himself in Alice Springs where he developed and refined his flicked style of background infilling, which now has many imitators, although none of them have been able to match his expertise. 

In 1991 Maxie arrived in Papunya with three canvases of his Bushfire Dreamings. Each canvas was almost identical, his characteristic stippled or flicked style of coloring employed to create abstract representations of fire. Chris Hodges, Papunya Tula’s Sydney agent, was impressed by his work and offered a Solo exhibition, which was a great success in the following year. 

Later works of Maxie’s have been compared with some works of the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye - similarities being drawn in the stylistic, apparently abstract areas of colour without conventional dotting or elements of Western Desert iconography. 

Numerous exhibitions have coloured his development and contribution to the movement, exhibiting throughout Australia and internationally since the mid 1980’s. Some examples include: 1986 Sydney Opera House exhibition hall; 1987 ‘Central Australian Paintings from the Holmes a Court Collection’ University of Western Australia; 1988 Expo 88’, Brisbane; 1989 ‘Papunya Tula...’ John Weber Gallery New York; 1989 National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; 1990 ‘l’ete Australien a Montpellier’ Montpellier France; 1987, 1988, 1996 Gabrielle Pizzi Gallery Melbourne; 1992 ‘Bushfire’ Utopia Art Sydney; 1993 ‘Works on Paper Utopia Art Sydney; 1993 Art Gallery of Western Australia; 1993 ‘Tarinoita: Contemporary Aboriginal Art’ Keravan Taidemuseo Helsinki Finland, ‘ARATJARA’ touring: Kunstammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen Dusseldorf, Hayward Gallery London, Louisiana Museum, and Humleback Denmark 1993\4. Additionally 1995 ‘Stories’ touring: Sprengel Museum Hannover, Museum fur Volkerkunde Leipzig, Haus der Kulteren der Welt Berlin, and Ludwig-Forum fur Internationale Kunst Aachen. 1995 Holmes a Court Collection Germany; 1996 National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; 1997 ‘Dreampower,’ Adelaide; 1999 Flinders Art Museum Flinders University, Adelaide. Photographs and text copyright of Jinta Desert Art 1997 Maxi’s work is represented by many national and international collections, including: Artbank, Sydney; Jinta Desert Art Gallery, Sydney; Aboriginal Desert Art Gallery, Alice Springs; Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia, Melbourne; The Kelton Foundation, Los Angeles U.S.A; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; Campbelltown City Art Gallery, Sydney; Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; The Holmes a Court Collection, Wagga Wagga City Art Gallery, Federal Airports Corporation, Flinders Art Museum, Adelaide; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide.