GRAYSON MUELLER
ARTIST STATEMENT
I find myself drawn to work in black and white. The natural contrasts of the medium help me emulate my favorite masters, Caravaggio and Jacques-Louis David, whose works use light and staging to create dramatic and cinematic moments within their compositions.
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Growing up in the Carolinas, I was never able absorb the history that captivated me first hand. I always wished I could see castle upon a hill, or visit monuments built thousands of years before my time. Unfortunately the history that surrounded me never could scratch that itch. I was left with the stories I would learn in history class, take in from television, and later in life from the history books I would read in my free time. These stories continue to inspire me to this day.
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I often lean on my imagination when I work. I use reference to combine believable people, structures, and settings into fabricated dramatic snapshots. My style and process has also been influenced by those that came before me. My grandfather was also an artist. His work hung on the walls of my parent’s home. And I was lucky enough to learn from him during the times I was able to see him when I was a child. I was always mesmerized by what he could do with a pen, and I hoped that one day I could create something that could match him. When I studied at the University Of South Carolina I worked with charcoal, graphite, and ink; but now I find that working digitally allows obtain the outcome I am striving for.