Perry Milou’s work is cheerful and inclusive, glamorous and unique.

His craft was learned at a young age. And his influences combine abstract experimentation with a love for the Renaissance. And the fusion of both, plus living in a fabulous city, has brought cultural spice to his pop art.

“Miami is a great place,” Milou says. “Creative, hot, and growing on the art scene map. But my true interest in pop art started when I was young. I loved Peter Max. Then, I explored Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Jasper Johns. I was influenced by all of them.”

A transplant from Philadelphia, Milou moved to the Sunshine State and opened his up-and-coming gallery in the cities art hotbed, the Wyndham Art District.

He studied at the University of Arizona and returned to his hometown to try and make it as an artist. After many years working as a bartender and feeding his creative bug on the side, the artist opened a studio called American Milou’s Studio for Children.

“I then started teaching kids,” he says. “I’ve always loved children, so, I opened my own studio that was a public space. I taught kids from 4 – 6 after school. It was great, but after 3 years I had to make a decision to be an artist or an art teacher.”

You see, for this rising star spontaneity was a necessity. So, he transitioned into painting in public parks and dabbled in commercial work also, which after some time limited his innovative spirit.

“I moved to Miami because after some time I felt frustrated, restricted in my approach,” Milou explains. “I made a lot of money doing commercial paintings of urban landscapes. I designed paintings of peoples buildings, homes, cars, whatever they wanted I did because it brought money. But after a while, I was not pushing my own creativity and I had hit

Miami was the spot that cultivated the fire within the artist again. The warmth of the tropics mixed with the colors in the sky enthralled him as an artist. So, where better than the city of inspiration to cultivate wonderful pieces.

“The palette here in Miami is amazing and the skies are a big influence for me,” he says describing his latest series. “The skies here are similar to those in Arizona, with a lot of mauves, pink, teals, green’s that you don’t have much everywhere else. The influence of those colors and defining Miami as a hot, sexy place that has that feel to it, made lips the perfect thing to represent that.”

Taking the lips of famous symbols like Marilyn Monroe, Bridgett Bardot, Madonna, Sofia Loren, Jessica Alba, and of course Angelina Jolie, the artist has been able to capture the essence of the H-O-T art scene!

Milou’s work communicates moods and stances in a smart, funky and sassy manner. The pieces of art are quirky and decorative, with a bit of an empowering quality.

The backgrounds are filled with stripes, concentric swirls, waves, knots, crosses, and radiant lines that show the impulse and embellish the work.
What would look like ordinary pieces become richly hued main features that explode with style, and leave behind visually striking elements.

But this artist knows how important creating a buzz is. Although, he says his work is not meant to be heavy or narrative, it is meant to energize people and create a new concept of art.

“The lips series made way for a project called the Pucker Up Project,” he continues. “I’m developing huge canvases divided into a grid of 1,024 equal 3 inch squares. The colors are all pastel, warm Miami colors. Each painting turns into an image. The concept is to get an enormous amount of lipsticks donated and have women pay $100 to pucker up and kiss one of the squares, turning the canvases into a giant image and later donating the money to a local charity.”

To Milou, giving back and cultivating a future for art is what’s important and since artists are “the most unique individuals in the world, curating emerging talents like young artists,” is important to this force to be reckoned with.

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