Trenton Musch comes from a family of creatives. His grandma is a painter, his uncle is a designer, his mom is an event planner and his dad is a photographer. And Musch, a mural artist, lives up to the family tradition.
An IU sophomore, Musch, also known by his artist name, Moosy, first became interested in mural art when he watched artist Cameron Moberg create a three-story mural of a bird in his hometown of Rensselaer, Indiana when he was 15.
Musch was so inspired by the art that years later he got a tattoo based off of the mural. Ever since, Musch has wanted to become a mural artist himself.
So, he had Moberg teach him.
“I watched him do the whole thing,” Musch said. “He started teaching me different techniques like how to use the can, different caps, different types of styles.”
Musch’s most recent mural depicts a woman pulling a blindfold off of her eyes, but her hands are being held by strings. He said there is a specific meaning behind the mural, but he doesn’t like to share what his interpretation is.
“I really want people to get their own idea from it,” Musch said. “Especially as a street artist, once you make that mural, it’s not your mural. It’s for the public.”
Musch’s mural is located on the backside of a building called The Warehouse located off of South Rogers Street. He also has a few other small pieces on the same building.
The face in the mural is based on his neighbor and friend, IU graduate student Shun Lin. Lin said she was excited to be a part of Musch’s work after seeing him progress his portrait skills this semester.
“We also got to see his previous few practices on human faces working towards the realism part,” Lin said.
Lin said Musch has become increasingly interested in realism and portrait work. In the past, Musch has done a lot of cartoon-style work.
“He wants to get to depict human faces and also try to convey emotions through the actions of the character and not just the expressions,” Lin said.
Musch is constantly surrounded by his artwork. He displays his art in his shared house in Bloomington. In fact, he has a portrait of musician Oliver Tree in his dining room.
Musch did several smaller portraits in his backyard to practice for this big one. He also used his sister Alyse as a reference for one. The piece is a black and white portrait of Alyse with yellow and blue doodles in the background.
“Everything I do is spray paint,” Musch said. “I want to become good enough with a can that I don’t need to use a brush.”
Musch is a comprehensive design major. He said he is able to apply his major to his art by being more aware and more deliberate with what goes where in his work.
Musch said he just started making money off of his art earlier this year. His first paid piece was a mural in Brook, Indiana. He said he plans to turn his artwork into his career.
“The people I’ve met and the connections I’ve made has helped put me in a position where I do feel like I’m able to move on with this in my career,” Musch said.
He’s been doing at least two murals per week recently to push himself to get better and further his career.
“I don’t need to make millions. I don’t have to be famous,” Musch said. “I just want to be able to do something I enjoy.”
You can check out more of Musch’s work on his Instagram, @moosy_graffiti.
