Oli Mumby is a landscape artist in the Peak District who works predominantly in pastel, enjoying the directness and physicality of the medium and process. He blends a distinctive palette of colour and builds layers, often in collage, using pastel worked into paper
How do you describe your work?
A calming and atmospheric interpretation of the landscape, my figurative work often has a semi-abstract aesthetic which can be open to individual interpretation
What would you say are your greatest influences?
My work can be influenced and inspired by anything from medieval tapestries in stately homes or drawings made by my kids, to more expected sources including the work of other artists and designers. My greatest influence however is the natural world – particularly the landscapes of Derbyshire and the Peak District
Who do you have in mind when you create your work?
My aim is to make art that would appeal to me, enough to want to buy it if I saw it hanging in a gallery. It’s therefore an entirely personal and selfish process, yet I create work that I believe appeals to art lovers who also have a love of interiors and their surroundings
What makes your art different, special and irresistible?
My work captures the unseen and unappreciated beauty of landscape, through a distinctive and often reimagined aesthetic using unique mark making techniques
What do people say when they see your portfolio? How does your art make them feel?
The overwhelming response to my work is that it is captivating and beautiful, and that it has a powerful peacefulness and calming effect on the viewer
What do you think motivates people to buy your art? How does it appeal to the heart?
My buyers tell me that they love the distinctiveness and uniqueness of my pastel and collage paintings and that the colour palette within my work is strikingly beautiful. Viewers often tell me they feel absorbed in my paintings, that they create their own narrative or interpretation of them – particularly with my more abstract works.