[Editor’s Note: In honor of the upcoming Chester County Studio Tour on May 21–22, 2016, we found it fitting to have our Artists in Restaurant columnist become the interviewee. Meet local artist (and Town Dish contributor) Jeff Schaller below.]
I recently sat down with artist Jeff Schaller over a few beers at the Iron HIll Brewery in West Chester, where he has designed the eye-catching murals that grace the restaurant. I live rather close to the Phoenixville Iron Hill, and have always admired the unique pop art vibe of his mural gracing the back wall. Schaller’s artwork has been featured in the TV show “Friends,” Philly train stations and the outside of restaurants throughout the country, and I was eager to learn more about him.
Jeff always had a fondness of art. As a kid, he often found himself focusing more on illustrations in his school reports than the actual content, he explained to me with a chuckle.
Jeff’s style evolved from his previous career as a graphic designer, and a fondness for the nostalgic. It’s easy to cite pop-artists such as Andy Warhol as influences, but Jeff was also inspired by time spent in London at art school. He regularly took the bus or walked so he could observe the surrounding culture. Finding his niche in 1997 painting with a method called encaustic, which is a mixture of wax and natural pigment, he began to establish himself as a prominent artist.
The partnership between Jeff and Iron Hill Brewery began in the mid-2000s, and his first mural was at the Wilmington location. Each mural is created using four-foot square segments and assembled on location, and each mural has a unique aspect to it. In a few of the large pieces, Jeff included some large oak squares, and many of the murals include small throwbacks to the town or area, such as the Woolworth building painted into the West Chester mural.
Each mural is digitally designed, and is then created using a combination of wood, acrylic paint, and screen printing. Jeff’s theory on art is that it should “engage and lead to conversations,” and the murals certainly do. With small homages to the original landscape murals in some of the older locations, and screen printed irons gracing a few, the cheeky style of Jeff’s work isn’t soon forgotten.
If you would like to see more of Jeff’s work, he is having an open studio tour on May 19th and 20th. You can learn more about Jeff at his website: jeffschaller.com. For more information on the murals at Iron Hill locations (and the meanings behind some of Jeff’s cheeky ideas), click here.
Photographs credited to and courtesy of Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant.
