Mieko Anekawa has reinvented herself several times over.
Her journey began with her study of graphic arts in Japan. That led to working in the high-pressure graphic arts industry in New York City before she found tranquility in painting colorful themes of nature and botanicals.
“I got tired of doing digital work and being in front of the computer all day long,” she said of her transformation. “I wanted to do something more physical. I had always done drawing and painting. I quit my graphic design job and studied oil painting.”
The La Jolla resident’s latest artwork can be viewed at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts. The exhibit, “Hide and Seek in Hues,” will continue through Sunday, June 1.
The show features vibrant paintings created with unusual color combinations in fluorescence and neon not typically found in nature.
Born and raised in Osaka, Anekawa said she always had an affinity for art and, as a child, dreamed of becoming an artist or designer. She studied graphic design at Seika University in Kyoto, where she graduated in 2003.
After visiting friends in Australia and New York, she was inspired to follow her dreams and become a graphic artist in New York City, she said. Much of her work in The Big Apple involved deg watches for the company, Nooka, and creating corporate designs, brochures and logos for the firm, Berry LLC.
Anekawa said her art pieces, and the ways she arranges layouts and compositions, have been influenced by her graphic design experience.
“I use a lot of fluorescent colors in my oil paintings because the graphic design companies loved using fluorescent colors,” she said.
Anekawa said she lived in New York for about a decade. She married Kenneth Vitale, and together they began raising two daughters.
“The New York winters are pretty long,” she said of the family’s move to the West Coast in 2015. “We felt trapped and wanted to move somewhere with more nature and better weather.”
After Vitale found a job at UC San Diego, where he teaches anatomy and sports medicine, the couple decided to move to La Jolla where they could enroll their daughters in top-notch schools, Anekawa said.
Soon after their move, Anekawa opened a studio in the Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park, where she displays and sells her artwork and teaches art classes.
She was captivated by native Southwestern plants, which she hadn’t experienced in Japan or New York.
“After I moved to San Diego from New York, the first thing I noticed here were the cactuses,” she said. “They’re beautiful in their own way, unique and colorful. Cacti have spikes that show resilience — I like the contrast of cuteness and resilience.”
Her interest in nature combined with her desire to pursue more organic and fulfilling forms of art by working directly with brushes on canvas.
Her colorful portrayals of cacti, fish and other nature themes can be viewed at the PA exhibit along with her signature style, “Camo in Hues,” of incorporating hidden words and elements layered beneath bold, expressive colors.
“First I do the layer of the colors on a blank canvas, then I start drawing letters with a brush,” she said. “After that I do the subjects’ outline, then fit in words and the subject to bring the light to the painting. I send a positive message to the world. Depending on the painting, I add a lot of comforting or ing words, or words that give you strength or resilience.”
The resulting images depict wildlife blended with cacti and botanicals in neon and pastel hues, she said.
“I use a lot of colors and a lot of voice, like the painting is speaking,” she said, describing her mission to spark joy and have viewers make unexpected connections with her pieces.
Anekawa’s artwork has been exhibited in galleries in New York City, Amsterdam, Belgium, Canada, England, Osaka and Tokyo. She has also collaborated with fellow artists, creating live paintings, public art installations and body paintings for performance artists.
She was the featured artist at the annual ArtWalk San Diego in Little Italy in 2023.
“I felt very fortunate,” Anekawa said. “It was a great show and I had a lot of sales that day.”
Some of her other contributions to the local arts scene include a jellyfish mural displayed at Liberty Station and the curation of an interactive art project for the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival.
Anekawa said displaying her artwork at the PA makes her feel happy.
“It’s a beautiful space and there’s a lot of good lighting,” she said. “For the first time I am able to have almost every painting in one space. I have a lot of paintings and usually I’m not able to include everything. This is a huge space. It’s gorgeous so I’m very happy to be there.”
The free “Hide and Seek in Hues” exhibit is open for viewing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and from 1 to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, 15498 Espola Road.
Parking es are required on weekdays and can be picked up in the Main Office of the PA lobby. For more information, call 858-668-4693.
