Sharing God's Light Through Art

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aioclub.org slash radio. We are humans and we don't have it all in our heads to know exactly what something will look in nature, you know, and so I like to go right to God's creation and see it with my own eyes and respond to it rather than try to create it. I'm not the creator here. I kind of respond to the creation. So that's what I do and so I wanted to see what God had in store, you know, once again.

And every every painting goes in with prayer and so, you know, this painting had a lot of answered prayers as it went along. That's Morgan Weisling describing how God has gotten a hold of him, his talent for art, and how God's using that today in some pretty incredible ways. And Morgan is our guest today on Focus on the Family.

Your host is Focus President Jim Daly and I'm John Fuller. John, we're doing something a little unusual today. We're in a very different kind of studio. For our listeners, let me describe it, we're surrounded by paintings and easels and probably more paint brushes than I've ever seen in my life.

There's got to be 300 paint brushes over here. And all of this is to help you better understand an incredible story that we're going to talk about today. This is where Morgan creates his award-winning artwork, most often depicting scenes about early American life. The pioneer days, if we call them that, western scenes and lots of paintings about families and children doing all of the hard work they had to do to to survive.

When you read those stories and think about families crossing the prairies. Our goal is to introduce you to Morgan and his passion for serving the Lord through art, his story. He's got an incredible story, a testimony of how God has equipped him and gifted him and called him into this wonderful world of art. And you can see this of course on YouTube or hit our website where we're going to have a whole bunch of details about Morgan and the various paintings he's made, so many over the years. Morgan has been studying and doing artwork since he was old enough to hold a crayon, according to what he said. And unlike most of us who began that way, he just kept going, learning under some of the most famous and legendary illustrators and painters of the last century. For 14 years, Morgan was an illustrator in the Hollywood film industry, creating movie posters and collectible artwork related to that. And in 1998, he transitioned to the world of fine art.

Since then, he's become one of the premier painters in the world today. Morgan, that is quite a setup. Welcome to Focus on the Family.

Thank you, and this is not fair. You have scripts and I have nothing in front of me. No, we don't. We have guidance. We'll toss those aside. There they go.

They just went on the floor. Hey, what an incredible story. And for the folks that may be asking, okay, why are we doing this? I want to say for years at Focus on the Family, someone that you knew well, G. Harvey, he would do a painting for Focus and allowed us to do a print. And of course, G. Harvey passed away a while back, and what a wonderful family.

Patty and the whole extended Jones family, they've been so gracious to Focus. But through the connection of Pep Jackson, we are moving ahead and we're so grateful for you to say, yes, let's do this together. And we want to talk about your story so our listeners will get to know you a bit better.

So that's what we're going to do. Let's start with your family and what kind of family you grew up in. I grew up in a very loving home and a very encouraging home.

And my mom and dad were the type of parents you could only hope for. And the thing that made them kind of unique, though, was that they did meet in art school. So they really set an atmosphere to grow up, being encouraged to draw, encouraged to look at life the way an artist would look. How do we better appreciate the art world if we're not immersed in it, if we're not part of it?

I mean, for the parent that hasn't seen that in their children, should we be trying to encourage them, even if they haven't done it yet? Well, being an artist is the most important thing you can be. It's the greatest thing you can be. Sure it is. But you got it from your mom and dad.

That's what's so amazing. It sounds like, and I know your story, it just sounds like your folks were so good at encouraging you in this. Were they?

Yeah. You know, I have an older brother and an older sister. And I think they got out all the bad parenting on them. And so when I came along... That's what they tell you.

Everybody confirms it. That my dad, for instance, was a much better dad than the dad my brother had. Interesting. And he was just loving and encouraging, whereas my brother, anything he tried to do, it was always wrong.

You're doing it wrong. Whereas when I would do something, great job. Great job, Morgan. Wow, that's amazing. I want to talk about your dad and his experience as a young man in World War II, because it's so much a part of the story. What happened to him in World War II? He was a prisoner of war in a German prison camp. And he was in the Army Air Corps, and his plane was shot down on a bombing mission over Austria. And they landed in Germany.

And they parachuted out, were captured, put into a prison camp. And he spent a year there. And during that time, he did something really unusual. In fact, for the YouTube watchers, you have a sample here of what he created while in camp.

What was that? When he was a child, he wanted to become a comic strip artist. And so when he went into the Army Air Corps, that kind of put a hold on that thought, and then got a prisoner of war, he had an opportunity to actually live out this dream because he created a comic strip, a daily serial comic strip that would get passed around the whole barracks of the camp.

That's amazing. It would keep the guy's morale up because they had something to look forward to, because it was a lot of boredom in the prison camp. So my dad started this comic strip where he'd do one panel, and it'd get passed around the camp.

He'd finally get back to him, and he'd continue the story on and on and on. And I grew up with that story, and I just wished he had brought home some of those drawings so that I could actually see with my eyes whether this story was true. Right, so you heard all about it.

I heard all about it. But then something happened where you got your hands on one of the originals. Years later, he had already passed away.

I got an email about 10 years ago, or seven years ago, and somebody had written me saying, I think I have some drawings of your fathers that were in World War II. And I sobbed uncontrollably. It was more emotional than anything I could have experienced. I cried more about this than that probably when he died. I was so emotional about it.

I know, but connect those dots. Why do you think that struck you? I mean, this is a powerful piece of your dad's history. The story put him as a hero in my eyes, because it was something he did to entertain the troops, as it were. And so it was one of those things where as the years went on, and I had no evidence of it, you start to wonder if he embellished the story, or maybe it wasn't so big of a deal.

And then when that showed up, it was like getting my dad back again to tell me the story, only it was real. Okay, so you're 12 years old. You're getting an interest in art. It's firmly in your genetic coding, it sounds like, with both your parents going to art school, meeting in art school, that whole thing.

How did it progress from there as a 12-year-old boy? I was thinking football for myself. I don't know what you were thinking, John. Radio? No, I was thinking actually of art and photography, but it didn't happen.

Okay, here's two great differences, right? I often have parents ask me if possibly their child should be an artist, because they seem so interested in art. And I always tell them, every kid's interested in art, until about the age of 12 or 13. And if you're still seeing your kid do it at 13, 14, 15, there's a real good chance maybe they should be encouraged to be an artist.

That's a great rule of thumb. And I continued. I was just like anybody else.

I would draw, draw, draw, but I've seen all my friends, of my children's friends, be the same way. But my mom was so great about... She was amazing. She had the ear of God, and he would speak to her, it seemed. She didn't know it, but she would have the most amazing advice, like prophetic advice.

And she was always that way. And she would say, I think we should go check out this art school. And it was some little dinky school in Reseda, and we walked in there, and that changed the course of my career, because I got a teacher that was incredible. And it was all because my mom just saw a little ad, and she said, we should go check this out. And then all my life, she would give me these little, I think you should, and I listened. And that led to early jobs when you were still a teenager, where you were illustrating for Hollywood Pictures, right? You would do their movie posters. Again, my mom, God telling her, she said, I think you should go get a job at the art store, the local art store.

She goes, I think you'll meet somebody important. That'd be the right place to go. So I thought, okay, I'll go get a job there. And I worked there for seven months.

Nothing happened. I thought my mom was crazy. How old are you at this point?

Like 17, 18, something like that. That's why I was still in art school. And I kept my drawings under the table. And then this illustrator who I recognized his name, he came in.

It was the first time he had ever come in, in the seven months I'd been working there. And I go, oh, can I show you my work? And I showed him some of my school drawings. He gave no reaction. He was very, you think you could do this? And I go, yeah, that's what I want to do.

I want to be an illustrator. And then he didn't say anything. No reaction. Then he left. And that was, I had actually given notice I was going to quit that same day. The next day, I got a phone call from the art store saying, hey, they've been calling over here. Some agency wants to hire you to be a sketch artist. They're like, what? What? So I called the number and they said, hey, and that illustrator had completely recommended me to an agency. And they hired me.

Just in 24 hours. Hmm. But it was like a long history of sketching after that. So you're in that setting.

You're doing these movie posters and video jackets and all kinds of things. But it wasn't fulfilling. What was the Lord doing in your heart at this moment?

How was he? No, I was totally fulfilled. Oh, you were? Okay.

Yeah. So this is all you needed was a lot of cash. All I wanted to do was be an artist. And I wanted to be famous. And I wanted to do well. And everything was going great. Honestly. So you were having fun and it was fulfilling.

I was having fun. If you had come up to me and said, hey, you need Jesus or something in your life, I was like, hey, man, my art is my God. That's what you would say? I would say I don't need a crutch. Jesus is a crutch. It's fine for you, but I don't need it.

I'm fine. But God had a different plan for you. I mean, you had your idea, but what was God doing around you? You met a woman, right? I met a beautiful girl who was at an art school. And I only went there to meet her. And she, you know, she wore a little sweater and showed her midriff.

I was like, okay, I'm going. That worked, huh? You're a young man at this point.

Yeah. And, you know, so I had an opportunity to teach her class as a substitute teacher at the art school she was going to. And I was already doing well as an illustrator, already well known. And she said that she was interested, but she was a Christian, and that she would never get serious with anyone that wasn't a Christian. And I'm thinking, you know, I don't know what that really means, but she said, but if, you know, do you want to go to church with me? And I'm thinking, well, I'll go out with you. If that's what I need to do, I'll go to church with you, you know. I mean, yeah, she's pretty beautiful, so I thought, yeah, you know, I'll do that.

And that's amazing. And so for about six months, we dated, and I would go to church sometimes with her, you know, and argue with her afterwards. You know, like, I really don't agree with anything this pastor is saying, and it wasn't really hitting me.

It wasn't striking me, you know. And then one day, you know, he handed out blank pieces of paper, and of all things, God decided that the blank piece of paper was going to be the thing that he would hit me over the head with. No sermon did it.

Nothing. So what did he say, though, when he handed it out? He handed out pieces of paper to the whole congregation. He said, if you've got a talent God's given you that you could use to help out at the church, put it down, put your phone number, and send it back in. So I didn't have any intention, so I'm looking at the white piece of paper there, and everyone else is writing down stuff around me, and I'm just sitting there, and it was though my life was flashing before my eyes, one of those movie situations of the words of, if God's given you a talent, kind of started ringing in my ears, because I always had kind of given myself the credit for having learned to draw and worked hard to do what I do. Art was your God. Art was my God, but also I made it happen, and in the end, as this little movie was playing over in my head of my life, I realized, you know what, there's no way I could take credit for a lot of the things that I've been able to see in my own growing up, seeing that I can do. I obviously was given a talent outside of myself that I didn't create it, and then all in this little moment, it was like God was hitting me on the side of the head with a hammer, and He said, are you using that talent the way I probably would have intended for you to use it? So you really felt that that was what God was... And at that moment, I'm working on posters, movie posters, for B-movies for things that are like, you know, where you wouldn't say I was really utilizing the talent that I had been given in the best way that God would want me to, and it was like... So really, it's like a conviction at this point.

I mean, God's convicting. Now I'm sort of recognizing, and this is all going on. My girlfriend has no idea this is going on. She thinks I'm ignoring this because I'm not writing anything down. And I realized, you know what, God seems to have given me something, and I'm not using it right. And at that very moment, I decided, well, God, if you're real, and this is all real, I want to give it back. I know I'm supposed to offer what I can do, and maybe there's something I can do.

You know, everyone else has things they're writing down. So at that time, they gave a kind of an altar call. I responded only because I figured that's probably what I need to do to give my life to say, okay, God, what do you want me to do with this? Morgan Weisling is our guest today on Focus on the Family. Stop by our website to see examples of his artwork, of his dad's artwork from World War II, and to learn more about what he's talking about right now, which is, what are you going to do when God starts talking to you?

We've got the details in the episode notes. So what was your next step? You put out a fleece, and you kind of said, Lord, if I'm going to move in your direction... So I do the altar call, and I couldn't even tell you exactly what I prayed, other than in my heart, as I was saying the words they told me to say, I was also saying, I just want to give my life over. It was a surrender of sorts. And so then I went home, and I prayed, you know, okay, I'm ready. Like, you know, what's going to happen next? I don't know. You know, it was a childlike faith of, is something really going to happen?

If this is real, maybe something won't really happen. And so after having prayed, what do you want me to do? I got a phone call, literally the next day, from an art director. And what was interesting was, he danced around the project a little bit for a while. And I'm thinking to myself, this is normal.

I get phone calls of art directors all the time. And this is the next day after this event at the church. So in my mind, after this event at the church. So in my mind, I'm really kind of still thinking about, I wonder what God will do someday, you know, like the Hughes me, if this is real. And this guy's jabber jabbering about some video series for kids, you know, and I'm thinking, oh, that sounds like, not even like, you know, close to what I'm, you know, interested in at the moment right now, you know, because I'm wondering what God will do. And then he convinced me to say yes to this series, because I need to do work. And he goes, before we go, I've got to be honest with you, because we are a Christian company. And right away, I'm like, what?

Okay, now he's got your attention. And he goes, and we're doing a video series with Christian values. And we have decided that we can't really find any Christian artists that are of the quality that we want this to be, that really give the effect. And so we went, gone to a movie poster artist who's, you know, in the world of this stuff, and decided that we don't have to have him be a Christian. And I'm just there going, what?

You know, are you kidding me? I prayed yesterday. I've never been called by a Christian company in my life, and for a job. And all of a sudden, the day after I prayed, that God would use me, this focus, and he goes, this is a company called Focus on the Family, and we're doing this thing called McGee and Me, and we need to do coverage for it. And so I was in such shock that God, the Creator, cared about just this little person, you know, in this little apartment getting this phone call, of like, wow, you know, you really listened to my prayer, and this is real? That's an amazing story. It was one of those things that nobody can ever take away from me.

Right. You also, the other thing within your story that was so gripping for me is, it's like when most people commit to the Lord, they just become a sponge. You want to learn. That happened to me in college. I just stopped reading my textbooks and started reading scripture. I mean, I'd sit for four or five hours a day in my dorm room and read through the New Testament. You're just, you have this appetite that the Holy Spirit puts in you to learn. You had that same experience, but you also augmented that appetite with Focus broadcast cassettes, right? Yes, I did. Well, as I was getting more and more involved with Focus, and one of the art directors who I told my story to privately, and I said, I just want you to know, I just became a Christian.

You're not going to believe this. He was so excited. And when I came out to Pomona where Focus was, he introduced me to everybody, and they said, hey, knowing I was a new Christian, if you want to just grab any of the tapes. At the time, you had a huge wall full of the audio tapes.

I remember that wall in Pomona. So if you want to grab any, I was like, yeah. And they gave me a bag, and I just started grabbing them. And so I was listening to Focus on the Family broadcast, learning what it meant to be a Christian through people's testimonies, because so many of these that I had grabbed were people who were telling their stories as missionaries, and people that were extraordinary stories of what God did in their lives. And it was done in such a way where it was so compelling and still is, this whole broadcast. And it was interesting to learn about the character of God through these tapes. It wasn't like listening to sermons. It was literally real people telling their stories.

And it was just blowing my mind, you know, tape after tape. And my wife... Who was your girlfriend. You didn't finish that part of the story. You married the girl. We got married. What a good guy. And she was great. That was neat that she put the hammer down and said, listen, I'm a Christian.

I know you're not supposed to do it that way. They call that missionary dating. But she was very, very upfront.

This is not going to be a serious thing. We'll just go and see movies or whatever, you know, kind of thing, unless you were to become... It's not like she twisted my arm to be a Christian. And she could see I wasn't going to be.

I was doing nothing but argue. So you can imagine her shock when all this was going on. Absolutely. Well, that surely is a great introduction to who Morgan Weisling is in his heart. And we are thrilled that he's partnering with Focus on the Family again to provide another fine art painting for us to offer. That's right, John. And last year he did a wonderful painting called Sharing the Light that we provided to our listeners in time for Christmas.

And it was well received. This year, Morgan has a new painting that I'm very excited about called A Prayer for a New Life, which has a sanctity of human life theme. And rather than you and me talk about it, John, we need to bring Morgan into the conversation.

He's with us by phone from his studio in Southern California. Morgan, are you there? I'm here. Thanks for having me. Yeah, it's great to talk to you again. And we're so grateful for your partnership with Focus.

And I know many people that purchased last year's prints were very glad they did. For our radio listeners, can you describe this new painting for us? Well, it's hard to describe the painting over the radio, but this is an oil painting I did. And it's set in the old West time period, which is what I'm known for. And so it's set in that time period of when settlers were crossing the Great Divide of America to go West. And the viewpoint is from inside of a covered wagon. And we're looking out the back of it. So imagine sitting inside the wagon, and you're looking out the back of it. In the foreground closest to us, we see items, you know, from their travel that they've had to take to survive this long track. Now, looking past these items, we don't really see out yet, because blocking our view is a young new mother cradling her baby in her arms. Standing outside of the wagon and leaning in is her husband.

His face is burned by the hot sun, and his arm is coming in underneath her arm. And mother and father, both having their heads bowed towards their baby, but their eyes are closed. And they are praying for this gift in their arms. They're offering up a prayer for this new life that they hold, and also for the new life that lay before them.

So there's kind of a play on that title, really, of two meetings going on right now. And so that's the scene and light streaming in through the opening of the canvas, covering of the wagon. You know how wagons have that roundish oval, and it creates this arc, and it sort of frames this whole scene.

Now, looking past the family in front of us, we look outside and we see a frontier wilderness bathed in a stark sunlight. Warm yellows and oranges are contrasting with the cooler colors that are present in the shade of the wagon that we're inside of. That wagon is really the covering from the heat of the day, and it protects them. And in my mind, when I was painting, it kind of represents the covering of the Holy Spirit, really. And it's, you know, we look outside and we see in the distance another traveler indicating they're not alone on this journey.

There's another wagon back there. And that was kind of representing, like, when you're in the body of Christ, you know, you're not alone on this journey, either, you know, and that was another little representation. Now, Morgan, it's so beautiful, and it does reflect that fragility that life, you know, expresses the preciousness of life and the importance of life. I think you've captured it beautifully, especially for that time period, the hardships of life, yet the peace of God that comes in the form of a baby.

I mean, it's really done well. So thank you. Thanks for doing this again with us. And I know the folks are going to love it. And I hope many, many people pick up this piece of art from your gifted hand and have it on display right there in their homes.

I'm looking forward to that happening in our home, in the daily home. So again, Morgan, thank you so much for partnering with us. It's more than an honor. It's just something that is, you know, part of my story focused on the family has always been an important part of my life. And when becoming a Christian, and it still just is blowing my mind that I'm still getting to partner with you guys and have you and me working together. So thank you so much.

Yeah, it's amazing how linked it is. Be sure to give a hug to Joanna and your two wonderful girls. And we just so appreciate you all. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Jim. Bye, John. John, it's great to contemplate what the Lord has done and how he reached out and chose a young artist who was doing his own thing, living for himself and his art, and then God.

Right. And then God challenged Morgan about how he was using his talents and turned his life around. And then focus on the family participated in his early discipleship. And now all these years later, we're working together again. And as our listeners and viewers get copies of Morgan's newest painting, a prayer for a new life, the financial support that you provide will help us build stronger families, rescue more preborn babies and share God's love with those who need to hear it. Well, I hope you'll join us in getting your copy of this print and displaying it.

It is such a great reminder about the sanctity of all human life. By the way, stop by the website. We've got images of this wonderful painting there and then order your copy. The link is in the episode notes or call 800 the letter A in the word family. And when you get in touch, we'd appreciate it if you'd remember, focus on the family and your prayers and in your financial support, too. Let me say thank you in advance for your ongoing partnership with us. And on behalf of Jim Daly and the entire team, thanks for joining us today for Focus on the Family. I'm John Fuller inviting you back next time as we want more help you and your family thrive in Christ. And through it all, Focus on the Family is alongside you with encouragement from a biblical perspective. And now we have a tool that gathers our trusted guidance and support together to help you make a difference in the world. You can broadcast, engage our social media, find a counselor or make a donation all on the Focus on the Family app. And as always, thanks for joining us for Focus on the Family, we'll see you next time on Focus on the Family.