Laura Mitsu (she/her) is a California-based abstract artist whose work explores the felt experience of being human, expressed through color, movement, and intuitive mark-making. Working from her studio in Oakland CA, she creates original paintings on canvas and paper while allowing curiosity, experimentation, and intuition to guide her creative process.
A self-taught artist, Mitsu previously worked for a decade in professional kitchens as a line cook and sous chef in Southern California and New York City. She left that industry feeling burnt out and depleted, and sought a more fulfilling and nourishing path forward. Mitsu returned to art, and a quiet return to creativity soon became a powerful need for artistic expression.
Her abstract paintings have been featured in print, online, and in juried exhibitions across the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. They are held in private collections throughout the United States and internationally. In 2024, she debuted her first solo exhibition, Poetic Abstraction, in San Francisco, CA.
Statement
I came to painting not through formal training, but through a return to myself. My process is about quieting the noise of the outside world and tuning in to the vastness within. I don’t plan my paintings in advance—I let them unfold organically as I work in a state of flow, where energy, intuition, and curiosity guide the work. I paint primarily with acrylics but often incorporate oil sticks, pumice, or gold leaf—whatever the painting asks for, I listen and respond. I use brushes, unconventional tools, and my hands to move the paint with rawness and emotion. Poems often emerge alongside the paintings, offering insight into how each piece moves me—deepening the conversation between myself, the artwork, and the viewer. I enjoy sharing these poems with my collectors and on social media.
My paintings are vibrant invitations to live more fully and feel more deeply—a rebellion against all the times I’ve been told I’m “too sensitive” or made to believe that vulnerability is weakness. My work explores themes of authenticity, connection, and the fleeting nature of existence. Life is short, and tomorrow isn’t promised.
I hope to encourage viewers to embrace their full, authentic selves—to live boldly and love themselves along the way. Choosing to be an artist, and sharing my art each day, is how I honor these truths in my own life.
All work is original by artist Laura Mitsu.