Biography from Trailside Galleries - WY:
| A successful illustrator in the Hollywood movie industry for fourteen years, Morgan Weistling made a transition to the world of fine art in 1998 that has been meteoric in so small sense of the word. His earliest influence was his artist father on whose lap Morgan sat and sketched at just nineteen months of age. He later studied in the Los Angeles area at a small art school run by Fred Fixler who was widely noted for his drawing skills. Under Fixler’s tutelage, Weistling learned to paint by studying how light falls on a subject.
Interviewed for an article in "Art of the West" magazine, Weistling recalls, “Fixler used classical methods and still taught the rigorous approach. I drew everyday. That’s how he trained me.” Other major influences in Morgan’s work include John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Nicolai Fechin, countless Russian Impressionists and modern day master Richard Schmid.
Now less than four years into a full-time fine art career, Morgan is nationally known for his exquisite oil paintings that showcase his well honed drawing ability and his skilled control over values, edges and light. Most often, his subjects are period pieces, evoking a more gentle, gracious time, and often focus on women and young children.
Morgan notes, “In my paintings, I hope to communicate with the viewer the same emotional response that I felt and was inspired by. There has to be something visually stunning in the scene that causes me to want to capture that. Sometimes it is the personality of my model and a particular pose that just begs to be painted. Other times it’s just the way a particular edge stands out among the softer ones around it. Whatever it is, I know it must come from my heart or I won’t stay interested nor will the viewer.”
Working out of his home studio in a Los Angeles suburb, Morgan arranges his props and models as necessary. Painting completely free hand, with no preliminary drawing to guide him, he judges distances and places correct shapes and patterns, breathing life onto a blank canvas.
While collector demand for his original paintings has soared, the paintings that leave his studio are few and far between. Morgan acknowledges, “I am not the most prolific painter around! I decided early on that I would not let a painting out of the studio unless I feel really good about it. Sometimes that means living with a painting for a few months to get a good sense of what is working or not working. I think we as artists can become blind to our errors, which is why I rely on my wife JoAnn to critique each piece before I send it out. I think it is a valuable asset for an artist to surround himself with people willing to give an honest opinion.”
Morgan Weistling’s work was selected for the 2002 Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage show. Exclusively represented by Trailside Galleries, Morgan Weistling paints originals that continue to be sold by draw method due to high collector demand. His work has been the subject of several cover and feature articles in "Art of the West"/April 1999, "Southwest Art"/November 2000, US Art/December 1998 and "Persimmon Hill" Magazine/Summer 2001. He was the recipient of the Patron’s Choice Award at the 2000 Masters of the American West exhibit at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. Recently he won the coveted Prix De West Award as well as the Nona Jean Hulsey Buyer’s Choice Award at the 2001 Prix De West Invitational Exhibition held at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. |
Biography from AskART:
| Known for realistic figurative paintings of adults and children in
antique settings, Morgan Weistling was raised in Southern
California. He learned to draw from his father and was strongly
encouraged by his mother who researched art schools for her son.
She determined that a small school in Resuda run by Fred Fixler was the
best because Fixler used the old time, classical methods of traditional
realism. Weistling credits Fixler with teaching him how to paint
with effective methods of lighting.
For fourteen years, he
worked as an illustrator of movie posters. His artist hero is Richard
Schmid whom he calls a "pure artist." Also a close friend of Dan
Gerhartz, Weistling realized from him he could make a living at fine
art and has been highly successful, painting in the loose painterly
style of Joaquin Sorolla and John Singer Sargent.
Source:
Southwest Art, June 2002 |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|