Most days, Kentfield artist Michael Leu doesn’t need to go far for inspiration. All it takes is a little time with Fuzzy, his beloved orange and white cat, a frequent visitor to his home studio.

“That’s the muse of his work. You see a lot of cats in it; that’s Fuzzy,” said his wife, Rachel Leu. “When he was little, his mom bought a little kitty at the market, and since then, he’s always been a cat lover.”

In his latest book, “S for Satisfied — Alphabet Textbook,” which was published this year in Japan, where he often exhibits, Fuzzy is seen in little vignettes with each letter of the alphabet, like “N for Nap,” with the cat peacefully curled up with flowers nearby.

“It’s a very soothing, very healing journey from A to Z,” Rachel Leu said. “Each one has a story, like a reminder for people that you need a little break from hard work.”

Michael Leu, who has been creating art in Marin since the mid-1980s, doesn’t like to stay in just one lane artistically.

“I’m doing all kinds of media: drawing, printmaking and digital prints. I’m doing almost everything because I like challenges,” said Michael Leu, whose work also includes colorful landscapes and streetscapes, often inspired by his travels around the world.

‘Happy colors’

Growing up in Taipei, Taiwan, Leu’s love of art started early.

“He had a good teacher who inspired him. When he was in grade school, the teacher discovered he had potential and helped him after class. They sent one of Michael’s creations for an international competition, and he won,” Rachel Leu said.

After being recognized for his work as early as 7 years old, he continued studying fine art and design in Taiwan before working on his painting and printmaking techniques at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, where he met his wife in the art studio.

Using bright colors and whimsical images, he hopes his art can help people on their own healing journeys.

“He paints with his mind as well as his heart,” she said. “His work, it’s very colorful, happy, cheerful and inspiring. We call it ‘happy colors for happy people.’”

Special connection

Earlier this year, the couple was able to experience firsthand the impact Leu’s work has on others. In early February, they received an email from a customer who had bought some of his work decades earlier. Their house had been destroyed in the Los Angeles fires in January, and they were hoping to find replacements for what they’d lost.

“She said those two pieces were on the top of her priority list that she wanted after the fire in Los Angeles,” she said. “I’d been searching here and there, and, finally, I found it. I don’t know how to describe my feelings when I found it. She said she was in tears. After I cleaned it and packed it for her, she said, ‘Rachel, I can’t thank you enough. I’m so glad those two pieces are with me so I can keep going on with my life.’”