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For the second year in a row, Morgan has won the Artists' and Patrons' Choice Awards at the 2008 Masters of the American West Exhibition and Sale and his original painting sold for $286,100—nearly three times the reserve price. The painting? "The First Dance, 1884 Americana."
The idea for the painting, begun as a sketchbook drawing years ago, had taken years to come to fruition. In addition to finding the perfect models, costumes and composition, Morgan did not want to begin on the painting until he could give it his full concentration. Finally, one day last year, he began to create what John Geraghty described in "Western Art Collector" as "his signature work, an absolute master work."
Why paint a wedding? "I wanted to celebrate the institution of marriage," says Weistling. "I have been married to my lovely wife JoAnn for many years. I thought of the commitment we made in front of family and friends and what a wonderful feeling it would be to do a painting about that."
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Morgan Weistling began his artistic training on his father’s lap at 19 months
of age, where he learned how to draw and more importantly, use his
imagination. Capitalizing on his father’s talent for telling a story in comic
strip form, Morgan began to develop a sense of narrative in his drawing. “It
was here that art became a language for me.” At the age of 12, Morgan applied
his interest in art to studying his father’s art books and began his art
school studies at the Brandes Art Institute at 15. Working in a Los Angeles
art supply store while attending art school, Morgan chanced to show his
artwork to a prominent illustrator. As a result of their encounter, at the
age of 19, Weistling found himself employed at a top movie poster agency in
Hollywood. For the next 14 years, Morgan illustrated for every movie studio in
Hollywood. His clients included Universal/Amblin Entertainment, Disney, MGM,
Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Columbia Pictures and TriStar.
In addition to movie posters, Weistling created all the cover artwork for the
video series, McGee and Me for Focus on the Family and his art can be seen on
numerous magazine, book, CD and video covers as well as Sega pinball
machines. Since he has made fine art the focus of his art career, the
collector demand for his originals has been overwhelming.
With his masterful use of oils, Morgan Weistling brings a scene to life with
spectacular lighting, creating a sense of wonder and engaging the viewer’s
imagination and emotion. His dreamlike images touch the viewer’s heart, using
more than sentimentality to engage the viewer. His canvases are filled with
brushwork that tells a story beyond the subject matter. Like a skilled movie
director, he manipulates the focus of interest with suggestions and
impressions of forms that are barely realized and allow the viewer’s
imagination to fill in the details. “There is a story underneath the story of
my paintings,” Morgan adds, “I don’t hide the process of how I painted it. You
can see the layers and count the strokes it took to get there. With some
styles of painting, the closer you get to the canvas, the more you will see.
With mine, the more you step back, the more detail you will see. That’s not
easy, which is why it fascinates me.” Morgan Weistling follows in the
footsteps of the masters he admires, John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn and
Nicolai Fechin as well as many others. In all of his vibrant work, from
western art to feminine forms, Weistling crafts a narrative, driven by
clarity, focus and purpose, drawing on images inspired by his beliefs and
scenes from daily life. “My hope is that people will enjoy viewing my artwork
as much I enjoyed painting it. For me, art is my language used to
communicate to others how I see God’s creation. When I experience another
artist’s work, I love to see through their eyes and find out as much about the
artist as the subject they painted. That is what makes art so interesting.”
Weistling, a highly sought-after teacher, conducts private workshops with
juried students and teaches at the prestigious Scottsdale Artist School.
Recent honors and awards include the Patron’s Choice Award and the Trustees
Purchase Award at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles, CA, the
Prix de West Purchase Award at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
in Oklahoma City, OK, and the Patron's Choice Award at the Autry Museum of
Western Heritage. Weistling's book, The Image of Christ, was a finalist for
the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Gold Medallion Book Award.
Weistling and his artist wife JoAnn, whom he met in art school, have been
married for 14 years. Their 9 year-old daughter is often a model in
Weistling’s paintings. They make their home in California.
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