Art lovers Mull over actor’s artistry

Claudia Figueroa

NEWPORT BEACH -- Some people get into show business for notoriety and the

glamour of it all. Martin Mull got into show business for the sake of

making art.

Mull, not only an actor but an accomplished painter, was a featured

speaker at the Orange County Museum of Art’s Tuesday Talks at Noon -- a

one-hour lecture presented by artists featured at the museum.

Mull illustrated his talk in front of a group of more than 100 people

with slides of his most recent work, as well as a few pieces from earlier

in his career. The pieces ranged from drawings to oil paintings and

watercolors.

Prior to the lecture, the crowd seemed eager and hear the man they’ve

come to associate with the television sitcom “Roseanne.” Instead, what

they got was someone with more creativity than they had anticipated.

Mull is also known as one of the most appreciated contemporary painters

of the 21st century.

In addition to the Orange County museum, some of the most prestigious

galleries and museums in the country have exhibited Mull’s artwork. They

include the David Beitzel Gallery in New York, the Cleveland Center of

Contemporary Art in Ohio and the Dorothy Goldeen Gallery in Santa Monica.

Mull added that actor-comedian Steve Martin, who is a personal friend of

his, owns 35 of his paintings.

Artistically, the 57-year-old Rhode Island School of Design graduate has

been through several stylistic phases. His current style is something he

developed about a decade ago, after he spent years using an airbrush and

called himself a photo-realist.

Now, Mull paints images and scenes from the 1950s and ‘60s. More obvious,

he paints pictures that are supposed to be portraits of the ideal family.

Mull said he got the idea from old textbooks that portray the American

family as being flawless and living in perfect homes and perfect

neighborhoods.

“Growing up, we were taught that this was the ideal world,” Mull

explained. “Then we were launched into the [real] world and it wasn’t

there.”

So Mull took those images and de-constructed them. Now they appear upside

down and headless. When he creates a painting, Mull arranges -- then

rearranges -- until the image “has a little more element of truth.”

“Mull’s work is extremely engaging,” said Brian Langston, a spokesperson

at the museum. “He physically works on so many levels and his work

provokes favorable reactions from people who visit the museum.”

His painting, “We Had Such High Hopes,” an oil-on-linen piece that he

completed last year, is on display at the gallery as part of its “Lasting

Legacy” exhibit.

Recent additions to the museum’s permanent collection also include works

by influential California artists Uta Barth, Richard Diebenkorn, David

Hockney, Helen Lundeberg, Monique Prieto, Brett Reichman and Diane

Thater.