Jules Muck with her mural for the San Antonio Winery in downtown Los Angeles, celebrating the past orange groves.
Jules Muck spent her teen years and early twenties spray painting the sides of highways and making murals around New York City. It was all thrills and fun for the English native, a tool of expression that allowed her to weave herself into the urban art scene.
But one day while painting a rooftop off of Intervale Avenue in the Bronx, she unexpectedly found herself in the company of Lady Pink, a pioneer in the male-dominated street art scene. Unbeknownst to Muck, another NYC-based street artist named Faust had invited Lady Pink to check out her work. Nervous and taken aback by this sudden appearance of an iconic street artist, Muck took in Lady Pink’s feedback with excitement.
The encounter led to a rare opportunity: a paid apprenticeship. Under Lady Pink’s wing, Muck honed her technique as an artist and began to segue into a professional working artist.
“For years I asked her opinion, ‘How do I talk to this person? What should I say,’” Muck shares with Modern Luxury about the learning process for how to speak with commissioners. “She coached me through the early stages of being a working artist, which I don't think they really tell you in depth in schools or books. She really gave me the secret formula by just telling me what to say and how to say it, until I understood intuitively how to do that.”
Now based in Los Angeles, Muck’s early years were marked by constant movement and a feeling of displacement. Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, she spent most of her childhood bouncing around between New York City and Europe. It was through art that Muck found a way to connect to different communities, allowing her to integrate herself into wherever she was living at the time. She took to the thrilling street culture of graffiti where spray cans became her voice and blank buildings her canvas. She went about tagging sides of the West Side Highway and painting whatever she could get her hands on, facing legal troubles along the way. “I was always new and always moving, and everything was always changing,” Muck reflects. “It made me feel so good to be anchored in the community and have pieces.”
Since starting by spray-painting the sides of highways, Muck now lives in Venice Beach, creating murals for the beach community, as well as for people around the world.
A collector making a fine art purchase in the studio. Portrait of Taylor Swift as Napoleon.
However, the transition to a working artist came with challenges. In 2008, despite facing homelessness after several unsuccessful attempts to establish herself in California, Muck decided to stick it out, residing in her car on the streets of Venice Beach.
“I had my first art show and I had afforded enough to get an apartment. I think that was in 2008,” she recalls. She was later able to buy the house on the same property that she used to sleep in front of and has since turned it into an art studio. “I begged for change outside McDonald's, and I'm a homeowner in one of the most expensive places in America. That’s a miracle.”
While dealing with homelessness, Muck also grappled with addiction. But there was one thing that always kept her going: her passion for making art. What’s more, the community of Venice accepted Muck for who she was, helping her navigate these challenges. “People reached out to me, people helped me, people connected with me, let me use their garage spaces,” she says. “People helped me get an art show, people you know, co-signed on my freaking apartment so that I could get off the street.”
But Muck did not always envision herself as an artist. She didn’t think much about art as a career at all in her early beginnings making pieces. It was just something that she did for fun. Her initial belief about art was that it was not helpful to humanity. Instead, she thought pursuing a career in the medical or mechanical field would be more directly beneficial to others.
“I didn't think of it as a career path or anything; it was just exciting,” she says about art. “It was fun. It was community, and I loved zoning out and making work.”
Her perspective shifted over the years as she developed as an artist and discovered the impact that art can have on others. “I painted these two Creole girls in New Orleans and the fence [it was on later broke and] fell apart. And someone picked up these fence pieces and put them back together and they realized it was these two little girls that looked like her and her sister, and she decided to reach out to her sister who she hadn't talked to in 30 years.”
She continues, “It was all kind of a shock to me. I didn't know how powerful art was. I wasn't aware until I experienced it, and now I do value what I do and what other artists do a lot more.”
From painting libraries in Mexico to juvenile detention centers, Muck has witnessed the power that art can have on both a small and large scale. Her artwork tends to reflect her nomadic upbringing, exploring themes of the dichotomy between good and bad, a visual expression inspired by her experiences of constant movement.
The people and places she has met throughout her life have influenced and continue to influence her artwork. She has always been one for the underdog, trying to find common ground and exploring the good in every situation. “I've always been like, ‘OK, this person is a bad person– why are they bad,’” she explains. “I've always been open to the idea that there is some good.” Through this outlook, Muck makes art that creates a sense of unity amid differences.
In addition, community has been a consistent theme throughout her life and career. “In Venice, there's been so many people that I've met that have come in and out of my life. Venice, it's been more about the art lovers. I love the art lovers because they took care of all the artists.”
Muck particularly enjoyed working with musicians like Dave Grohl, whose friendship provided her with opportunities for growth and inspiration during a time of much-needed guidance. Extending herself, Muck continues to work on projects within different communities, currently developing studio spaces for artists in San Pedro and Mexico. She also welcomes people in Venice to step into her world at her studio every weekend.
A child in the studio purchasing her first art piece in the form of temporary tattoos, which are based on one of Muck's murals.
Muck further unifies people through Muck Recovery, a support group she created for those struggling with addiction, homelessness and mental illness in Venice. She holds meetings multiple times a week at her studio, supporting struggling individuals using creative outlets.
When Muck handed her house over to the community for Muck Recovery meetings, she initially thought it would mean leaving her spot in Venice. However, to her surprise she found herself owning two houses on the same block. “I am extremely rewarded for everything that I've done,” she says.
In the midst of her busy life as an artist, Muck finds solace in her first love: writing. She is in the process of writing a book about her life, diving into the moments from her past that shaped who she is today. Although she does not have a set date for her book to be published, she is immersed in the creative process, taking time away from home to work in peace at her space in Mexico. “It’s probably going to be more like a year before I can come out with it because it's a lot. I have a really long story, I have had a lot of things happen. So I'm taking my time. I'm giving myself time,” she says.
Muck’s studio is located at 511 Santa Clara Avenue and is open from 12-6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
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Photography by: Courtesy Jules Muck
