About

Mia Cugasi holding a paintbrush in her studio

Mia Cugasi is a color blind female artist and art teacher based in Houston, Texas, whose oil paintings carry a dreamlike and spiritual essence, inviting viewers into worlds where reality and imagination intertwine.

Being color blind is part of what makes Mia's paintings her own. Color in her work is never taken for granted: it is chosen, tested, and built up on the canvas, and in paintings such as Iris and The Mountain, color itself becomes the subject.

Born in New Jersey and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Mia graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (RMCAD) in Denver, where she developed her unique artistic voice through rigorous training in both traditional and contemporary techniques. Her education provided a foundation that she continues to build upon in her evolving practice.

Working primarily in oils, Mia creates original paintings that range from intimate works on paper to large-scale canvases. Each painting is a singular creation — no prints or reproductions are made, ensuring that every collector owns something truly unique.

Her process is rooted in intuition and meditation, allowing images and symbols to emerge organically. She builds layers of translucent glazes to achieve a luminous quality that evokes the ethereal nature of dreams and spiritual experiences. The result is paintings that invite contemplation and connection with something deeper.

Mia is also an art teacher, passionate about helping students discover their own creative voices. She believes in the transformative power of art to connect us with our inner landscapes and spiritual dimensions.

Mia works from her studio in Houston, Texas. Original paintings are available to collectors, and she welcomes inquiries about private projects, collaborations, and exhibition opportunities.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can color blind people be artists or painters?

Yes. Color blindness does not stop anyone from painting, drawing or working in color. Well-known color blind artists include Neil Harbisson and Daniel Arsham. Mia Cugasi is a color blind woman who paints in oils, teaches art and sells her work in Houston, Texas, and she had been painting for years before she learned, in 2026, that she is color blind.

Can women be color blind?

Yes, though it is rare. The common forms of color blindness are carried on the X chromosome, so they affect about 1 in 12 men but only about 1 in 200 women, and the less common forms are rare in anyone. Mia Cugasi is one of those women. Rather than treat it as an impairment, she has come to see it as a rare gift: it sharpens her eye for contrast, value and temperature, and it leads her to color choices other painters would not make, as in Iris and The Mountain.

How did Mia find out she was color blind? (The EnChroma viewfinder story)

Not until 2026. Mia had been painting and teaching art for years when, on a visit to a state park, she looked through an EnChroma viewfinder, one of the scenic viewers fitted with color blind lenses, and saw the landscape change. The paintings came first; the discovery explained the color choices she had been making all along.

Where do you find inspiration?

"I find inspiration in everyday life, but certain colors, shapes, patterns and images speak to me and feel like friends. I am just a vessel for them to materialize in this world." -- Mia

What are warm and cool colors in art?

Warm colors are the reds, oranges and yellows; cool colors are the blues, greens and violets. Warm colors tend to come forward in a painting and feel energetic, while cool colors recede and feel calm. Temperature is relative: a red can be cooler or warmer than another red, and painters use that contrast to build depth and mood.

How does Mia use warm and cool colors in her paintings?

"I am way more drawn to warm colors than cool. Cool colors represent calm and tranquil spaces. I prefer warm, positive, creative energies, because that is what I am inspired by. It breathes life into the canvas." -- Mia

What is value in art?

Value is how light or dark a color is, independent of its hue. It is what lets a painting read from across a room: the pattern of lights and darks carries the form, the depth and the focal point before anyone notices which colors were used. Painters often judge value by squinting or by imagining the work in black and white. For a color blind painter, value is the most reliable tool on the palette.

What gives art its value, in Mia's view?

"Art doesn't have to be expensive to have real value. It's what inspires you. I decorate my home with things I find second hand or free, and it usually looks and feels better than what I see in mansions." -- Mia

What medium does Mia work in?

Mia works primarily in oils, on canvas, paper and panel. She builds layers of translucent glazes to give her paintings their luminous, dreamlike quality.

Are prints available?

No. Every painting is a one-of-a-kind original. Mia does not make prints or reproductions, so each collector owns something truly unique.

How do I buy a painting?

Each available painting has its own page with the price and a secure checkout. Paintings ship from Houston, Texas. You can also reach Mia through the Inquire page.

Does Mia take on private projects?

Mia takes on a limited number of private projects each season, along with collaborations and exhibition opportunities. Start with the Inquire page.

Where is Mia based?

Houston, Texas, where she paints and teaches art.