ABSTRACT APPROACH

SOURCE STRIKING ARTWORK BY PAINTER AND SCULPTOR JEFF MUHS ONLINE AT RUNWAY GALLERY

American artist Jeff Muhs is one of the sought-after artists featured on Runway Gallery, an online showcase of contemporary art. His innovative, abstract style shines through in oil paintings and concrete sculptures. Here, he shares his passion for nature and explains how it influences his work.

I grew up in the Hamptons, surrounded by natural beauty. My father was a hunting and fishing guide, so I was out on the water with him as a young child from sunrise to sunset. I’ve always been passionate about drawing and painting, so it seemed natural for me to study at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan where I learnt the traditional techniques of oil painting. I moved back afterwards and have lived and worked here ever since.

I think of my paintings as a reflection in a puddle. To me, each piece is a landscape, nature’s beauty distilled and rearranged into its most basic forms – light, colour and space. There are beautiful things within nature that you might not notice until someone points them out to you – that’s what I’m trying to do though my paintings. Some people say they look a bit like stone or marble.

Oil on canvas is my main medium, but I’ve always been a sculptor.

I learnt the art of wood sculpting as a child from my father, but it wasn’t until I built my first house that I discovered concrete as a medium. I became fascinated by it and have been experimenting ever since. Unlike my paintings, my sculptures are driven primarily by process and form; I love discovering new ways to create interesting shapes.

I make a lot of my own tools, from brushes to easels. I spend a lot of time visualising and planning the work I’m about to undertake, winding myself like a spring until the tension is released. It can take anything from twenty minutes to a month to make a painting. Most of the time is just spent looking – observing what’s beautiful about it and how to enhance that.

I consider art as an investment in your quality of life. Few things exist solely but for the pleasure of experiencing it, so seek out pieces that resonate with you. I think that large, visually dynamic works benefit from being isolated in their own space, but there’s something beautiful about the poetry of grouping non-related works, too.

Buy stylish, affordable artwork from Jeff Muhs and other artists at runway-gallery.com

Finely Twisted Linen, Jeff Muhs at Runway Gallery

Capsheaf, Jeff Muhs at Runway Gallery