We caught up with the brilliant and insightful China-Fumi Davis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
China-Fumi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
Art has always been in my blood — literally. My mom is an artist who loved fashion, and she was teaching me how to draw fashion sketches and silhouettes when I was about three years old. And my dad owns Black Pearl Gallery Tattoos, so I grew up in a tattoo parlor, sketching designs and soaking up that creative energy every single day. Art wasn’t something I discovered — it was just always my world.
As I got older, my school art teachers noticed my passion and really invested in me — entering me in art contests and giving me extra time and attention. My mom always kept me supplied with art books and materials, she never stopped investing in my gift. And when I got married, my husband picked right up where she left off. I’ve been truly blessed with people who believed in me.
I’m self-taught in a lot of ways, but I’ve also taken formal classes, learned from mentors, and studied on my own. I work mainly in acrylics and oils, mixed media, and digital art. My biggest obstacle has always been time — balancing art alongside all of life’s other responsibilities is a real challenge.
Looking back, I wish I had taken myself more seriously sooner, and built a bigger community around me earlier. I also wish I had practiced more consistently. If I could tell my younger self anything it would be — your art is worth investing in, don’t wait.
The most essential skills to my growth have been experimentation and being open to feedback. I genuinely love painting classes and art classes because they sharpen my technical skills while also exercising the creative parts of my brain in new ways. Growth happens when you stay curious and stay humble enough to keep learning.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hi, I’m China-Fumi Davis, but most people call me Fumi — a name I carry with love, as it belonged to my grandmother. I’m a St. Louis native and proud to still be planting my roots here, using art to pour into the community I call home.
Art isn’t something I stumbled into — it chose me before I even had words for it. I’m Black and Japanese, and that dual heritage flows through everything I create. My style is a vibrant fusion of traditional Japanese art, manga and anime influence, bold pop art colors, and fine art realism — think the elegance of Girl with a Pearl Earring meets a beautifully styled anime portrait with rich, expressive fabrics and loud, unapologetic color. It’s layered, it’s cultural, it’s personal — and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I work primarily in acrylics, oils, mixed media, and digital art. I offer original commissions, prints, murals, digital design, and teaching — whether that’s one-on-one, workshops, or community classes. My clients range from individuals wanting something deeply personal and custom-made, to businesses looking for art that transforms their space, to people searching for a meaningful gift that actually says something. I’m also passionate about community representation — creating work that reflects culture, identity, and the beauty of people who deserve to see themselves in art.
My proudest moment so far? My first mural. It was the biggest project I had ever taken on, and I didn’t do it alone. My husband showed up and got every supply I needed. My brother, dad, and mom were right there with me — holding chairs so I could stand and reach, setting up my projector, tapping off walls and spoke life into me — just showing out for me the way family does. And Oni by Blue Ocean Restaurant gave me the space and believed in the vision before it was even finished. That mural taught me what it feels like when a community wraps around you. I will never forget it.
I praise God every day for this gift. My prayer is that my art makes people feel something — joy, empowerment, wonder, a deep emotional connection — whatever they need in that moment. Art has a way of reaching people that words simply can’t, and that’s exactly what I want to do with mine.
Right now my art is my side hustle, but I’m trusting God that it becomes my main one. I am open to opportunities in every aspect of art — commissions, collaborations, murals, teaching, digital work, all of it. My website is in the works, but in the meantime you can reach me on Instagram at @ms.fumiiko or by email at cfumidavis@gmail.com. Don’t be a stranger — let’s create something together.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My mission is bigger than painting pretty pictures — it’s about purpose.
At the core of everything I do is faith. God gave me this gift and I take that seriously. Every brushstroke, every commission, every mural is my way of honoring that. I don’t just want to make art — I want to make art that means something, that moves people, that heals something in someone they didn’t even know needed healing. I let the work speak for itself, because when it’s Spirit-led, it doesn’t need much explanation.
I’m also driven by legacy. As a Black Japanese woman from St. Louis, I carry two rich, beautiful cultures in me and I want that reflected in everything I create. Representation matters. When someone who looks like me, or loves what I love, sees themselves in my work — that’s everything. I want to build something my family is proud of, and God willing, turn this gift into generational wealth that outlasts me.
But honestly? One of the deepest parts of my mission is giving back to the next generation. When I was younger I was part of an after school program called Ytec/YLC — young Black professionals who created a space where kids like me could explore robotics, art, math, and so much more. They invested in us. They showed us what was possible. That experience never left me. One day I want to create that same kind of space for children — a place where young people can discover their gifts, be seen, and be celebrated. Art saved a part of me, and I want to pass that on.
My goal is simple and enormous at the same time — use art to uplift, inspire, represent, and leave this world a little more beautiful than I found it. Art is for everybody, and I mean that with my whole heart.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
There are so many rewards, but let me start with the one people don’t talk about enough — that moment when you step back and actually see what your brain just created.
As an artist, you are so deep inside your work while you’re making it. Your face is practically in the canvas. You’re focused on this corner, that line, this color — and then you step back and the whole picture hits you at once. And sometimes you genuinely think, did I do that? It’s this wild, beautiful feeling of awe at your own mind. That never gets old.
But then there’s the other side — the people. When I make something custom for someone and I see their reaction, that’s indescribable. Art speaks what words simply cannot. So when someone gets emotional looking at a piece, or they say I get it — they’re not just responding to the painting, they’re responding to something I felt and put into it. In that moment I feel seen in a way that’s hard to explain. It goes both ways.
Creating also gives me a freedom and independence that nothing else does. When I’m in it, I’m in my own world entirely. It can be stressful, it can be peaceful, it can be therapy — sometimes all three in the same sitting. But more than anything it just feels like me. Like I’m the most myself I ever am when I’m creating. Everything I’m carrying, everything I’m feeling, everything I can’t say out loud — it all comes out on that canvas.
That’s the gift inside the gift. Art gives me a place to be completely, unapologetically myself — and somehow that ends up touching other people too. That’s the most rewarding thing of all.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: ms.fumiiko
- Facebook: China-Fumi Davis
- Linkedin: China-Fumi Davis
