Biography
Born in 1986 in Baie-Comeau, Mila is a Canadian painter whose practice bridges studio rigor and urban energy. She studied visual arts at Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup from 2003 to 2006, completed a Bachelor’s in Visual and Media Arts at Université Laval in 2010, and earned a graduate diploma in college teaching in 2012.
Her work celebrates women in their complexity, courage, and contradictions. The paintings fuse pop and street influences with contemporary expressionism and graffiti vocabulary. Vivid color, graphic structure, and gestural marks create a language where raw energy meets sensuality, and where agency, desire, and freedom are stated with clarity.
Animal figures often act as symbolic mirrors of instinct and resilience. The lion, a recurring subject, becomes a vehicle for inner intensity, reimagined through saturated palettes that balance exuberance and control. Music is central to her process. She paints to its rhythm and translates emotion into movement so that each canvas speaks first through feeling and only then through reflection.
Her work has appeared internationally, including in the book State of the Art, Artist’s Book from Aberta Gallery in Portugal and in the Hidden Treasure Art Magazine Yearbook 2014 in London. Her paintings are held in private collections in Canada. For American collectors, her work is presented on Belanger - The Collections.
Her work celebrates women in their complexity, courage, and contradictions. The paintings fuse pop and street influences with contemporary expressionism and graffiti vocabulary. Vivid color, graphic structure, and gestural marks create a language where raw energy meets sensuality, and where agency, desire, and freedom are stated with clarity.
Animal figures often act as symbolic mirrors of instinct and resilience. The lion, a recurring subject, becomes a vehicle for inner intensity, reimagined through saturated palettes that balance exuberance and control. Music is central to her process. She paints to its rhythm and translates emotion into movement so that each canvas speaks first through feeling and only then through reflection.
Her work has appeared internationally, including in the book State of the Art, Artist’s Book from Aberta Gallery in Portugal and in the Hidden Treasure Art Magazine Yearbook 2014 in London. Her paintings are held in private collections in Canada. For American collectors, her work is presented on Belanger - The Collections.
Julie-Mila Bouffard's Interview Presented Eclusively by Belanger - The Collections
When did you first discover your passion for art, and how did it begin?
I have been creating for as long as I can remember. As an only child, I spent hours making things, exploring color, and inventing imaginary worlds. I was always an artist at heart. Creativity was part of my everyday life, through visual arts as much as through music and dance. I played piano, I danced, I drew, I painted. It was my way of expressing who I was, channeling my emotions, and giving form to my imagination. Art was never a choice or a specific moment for me. It was a constant presence, a guiding thread that followed me through childhood and still shapes the way I see and feel the world today.
What inspires your creativity today? Are there people, places, or moments that influence your work most?
Music and emotions are at the core of my creative process. Every song, every beat becomes a visual impulse. I am also deeply inspired by femininity in all its complexity and by our human ability to transform and be reborn. I love exploring the duality between strength and vulnerability, intensity and softness. These contrasts fascinate me and nourish my work.
Animals inspire me as well, for their instinct, their wild power, and their resilience. I like interpreting that raw energy into an explosion of color and vitality.
The moments that influence me the most are the ones when everything becomes calm, when the world slows down. I love creating late at night, away from the noise. That is when my inner universe expresses itself most clearly. I am a true night owl.
Animals inspire me as well, for their instinct, their wild power, and their resilience. I like interpreting that raw energy into an explosion of color and vitality.
The moments that influence me the most are the ones when everything becomes calm, when the world slows down. I love creating late at night, away from the noise. That is when my inner universe expresses itself most clearly. I am a true night owl.
Can you describe your artistic style and the techniques or materials you enjoy working with?
My style sits at the crossroads of pop art, street art, urban art, and contemporary expressionism. I mainly work with mixed media, including screen printing, acrylic paint, and felt-tip markers. I enjoy combining these mediums to create dynamic and vibrant compositions.
My style is instinctive, colorful, and expressive, balancing spontaneous gesture with graphic precision, instinctive energy with thoughtful composition. My works are striking, sometimes wild, but always guided by an emotional intention. Color becomes a language, a breath, an energy.
My style is instinctive, colorful, and expressive, balancing spontaneous gesture with graphic precision, instinctive energy with thoughtful composition. My works are striking, sometimes wild, but always guided by an emotional intention. Color becomes a language, a breath, an energy.
What message or feeling do you hope people experience when they view your artwork?
I want my works to awaken something instinctive in those who look at them. I want them to feel power, confidence, and the intensity of a moment. For me, painting is about transmitting an energy, a visual cry between chaos and beauty.
I hope my works remind everyone of their own inner strength, that raw light we all carry. My creations are not meant to be understood but to be felt. What matters most is that each viewer finds their own resonance in them.
I hope my works remind everyone of their own inner strength, that raw light we all carry. My creations are not meant to be understood but to be felt. What matters most is that each viewer finds their own resonance in them.
What are you most excited to explore next in your work?
I want to push further into the exploration of color, light, and texture. I would love to experiment with epoxy, depth, and glossy effects. Integrating luminous, metallic, or even crystal elements attracts me as well, anything that can add another tactile and visual dimension.
In short, I want to experiment with new techniques while staying true to my goal of creating lively and vibrant works that radiate sincere energy and wild beauty. Music will continue to guide me, but I want to make even more room for experimentation, material, and surprise.
In short, I want to experiment with new techniques while staying true to my goal of creating lively and vibrant works that radiate sincere energy and wild beauty. Music will continue to guide me, but I want to make even more room for experimentation, material, and surprise.
