Nothing gets Morgan Weistling’s adrenalin going like telling a story. And, oh, the stories he tells. Focusing on pioneer life in the late 1800s, Weistling’s epic scenes depict the men, women, and children in everyday situations, as they settled the West. Much like a movie director, he carefully stages his characters in scenes that transport time. Through his skillful use of color and light, he leads viewers from one face to another, from one object to another, encouraging them to stop along the way and savor the story.
“I’ve always loved storytellers; I liked art that told stories,” Weistling says, adding that it was storytelling art—from comics to illustrations of the golden age rather than contemporary abstract modernist paintings—that drew him to become an artist. “As I became more aware of art, I was drawn to the art of illustrators who told stories, like N.C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle. I learned, hey, you can communicate an idea, a story, through a painting.
