Guisados Exhibition: Featured Artist

Tacos, community, and local art. Millie Velasco is the latest Featured Artist at @guisados Hermosa Beach! There's nothing better than fueling creative passion with local flavor. Millie's paintings of our South Bay beach scenes will be hanging up for a limited time, so go get your taco fix and soak in some local views.  Dedicated to bringing joy to our neighborhood, one canvas (and taco) at a time. Massive thank you to the Guisados family for supporting local creators and keeping the community so close to their hearts.

Guisados Exhibition: Featured Artist

About the Artist

Millie Velasco is a multi-faceted Filipino-American artist, entrepreneur, and the imaginative mind behind The Artist Mill, a whimsical boutique art gallery in the heart of downtown Hermosa Beach. A UC Irvine Studio Art graduate and former tech professional, Millie traded her corporate career to pursue art full-time, beautifully fusing structural discipline with raw creative passion. 

She paints vibrant coastal landscapes of the local beach scene, hand-draws custom caricatures, and hosts community workshops.

Beyond her storefront, Millie operates Smug Mugz, a luxury live-activation service providing digital and traditional caricatures. Her caricature work has been sought out by major names like Mattel and Netflix, and she has captured thousands of smiles across Southern California since 2010. 

Deeply invested in her community, Millie volunteers as a local youth art docent, and has partnered with the Los Angeles Fire Department to create meaningful art initiatives. 

When she’s not at her canvas, she finds peace tending her urban jungle of plants, practicing dance routines, and enjoying coastal life with her husband, two sons, and their lovable, socially-awkward fluffy cat, Frida. Millie dedicates her life wholeheartedly to God, living out the call to work cheerfully with a joyful heart.