Interview with Artist Tyler Morgan

Tyler Morgan is a full-time painter based in Pomona, California, whose acrylic work carries the weight of his testimony, tracing surrender, brokenness, and the ongoing work of being changed rather than rescued.

Tyler spent nearly six years working in coffee before leaving to paint full-time. His studio is in his bedroom, so the work is never far from him. His paintings return again and again to hands, faces, and the physical sensation of being broken open, treating each canvas as a kind of love letter to what he believes Christ has brought him through.

What follows is our conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

Wolfgang: Why don't you tell me about yourself, your work, and where you're from?

Tyler: I'm Tyler Morgan, from Pomona, California, about half an hour outside LA. My work holds the weight of my testimony, what Jesus has done in my life. I didn't start painting about Him until I started taking the word seriously. The gifting was always there, it always stayed, and He let me make whatever I wanted. But then I actually got the pleasure of finding Him again, and it was like the missing piece to what I needed, in my soul and in my art.

Wolfgang: When did you first start painting, and when did you start saying, I want to paint for God? What was that process like?

Tyler: I've always had a pen, pencil, or brush in my hand. My favorite things to draw were video game characters, there was a magazine called Game Informer I was obsessed with, I begged my dad for a subscription, and I'd bring it to school and try to copy the characters.

Moving into my adult life, it was around COVID when everything shut down that things changed. I ran from God a couple times. Then I couldn't go anywhere, all the bars and clubs were closed, and I went to church. I thought I'd be welcomed back with ridicule and criticism, but I was welcomed with open arms. My pastor said, "It's really good to see you, welcome back." I thought I'd be scrutinized, so that surprised me, and I kept going.

After a while I found the love of the Lord. I found He was more loving than I thought, I'd believed He just wanted me to follow the rules and point out what I was doing wrong. I was completely wrong. I fell in love with Him, and I started using my art to talk about Him.

I had this gift, and I had Him. I don't remember exactly which piece was the first one where I really started to talk about Him, but there's a piece called Bless This Mess that I made. It's acrylic. My life was messy at the time, and I was like, Lord, I need you to help me and bless me in this mess. I was drawing hands then, that was my focus, my hand in His hand, interacting, and His hand looked like it extended beyond the background. It's not on Instagram, it's in my archives, it was a gift for a friend. That was one of the times I really remember thinking, wow, I'm using my gift to glorify Him.

There was a point where I had to surrender my entire life. I was at a fork in the road, God basically asking, do you want to do things your own way, or mine. I liked my past at the time, I'll be honest. But everything I built without Him was like a sandcastle on the shore, the waves would come and wash it away, and you're starting over. Building on Jesus instead was the best thing.

I said yes, and He changed my life. I didn't think He could, I thought I was the most unchangeable person, the exception out of everyone I knew. But He said no, I'm going to change it, and He did. He blew my mind. And with the art, I started painting about the moments that were hardest to talk about, when your pillow is filling up with tears, your face is flat on the floor, and you don't know where to go, but He's always there. That's what I started painting about, and that's what I've enjoyed painting the most ever since, love letters about where Jesus has brought me from.

Wolfgang: I wanted to ask about I'll Change You Instead specifically, the one I found first. I'm interested in the composition, how it's split into two halves. What does that painting signify for you, and what do the two halves represent?

Tyler: Every situation, there were moments I used to think I was in trouble with the Lord because I was going through things. It's kind of what people thought Jesus was carrying, it talks about it in Isaiah, people looked at Jesus and thought He must be punished for His sins because of the weight He was carrying. But no, He was carrying His mission, what His Father set out before Him.

In my case I used to think if I was going through hardship, I must be doing something wrong. No, it was God changing me. There were situations where I'd ask Him, Lord, can you get me out of this, can you change my circumstances. His response was, no, I'm going to change you instead. I'm going to continue to break away your flesh, stretch your faith. There are situations you can't pray yourself out of, so instead of removing it, He gives us the opportunity to pray and invite Him in our circumstances.

When I asked Him to come into it, He changed my mind, my outlook, the lens where I could see Him in my situation. Even though I'm going through a hard time, even though the weight of it is crushing and it feels like there's no way out, I see myself in His word, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Not, I can see you taking my situation away, but I see you right here in this crazy time. Like when Paul was in jail writing Philippians, one of the most joyful books in the Bible, and he was in jail when he wrote it.

So the two halves are meant to show broken flesh, there's a face stretched across it, broken, like everything is pulled far apart from itself. The blue is the anguish and sorrow that comes with it, it doesn't feel good to be broken, but it's all for God's glory. Before Jesus made it to the cross, He was betrayed during Passover, at the last meal He and His disciples would have together for a while.

But He did it anyway. He could have called down angels to save Him, but He didn't, because His mission was more important. I could call on God to save me from this, but I know going through it matters more. There's no way around it. That's what the piece signifies.

Wolfgang: That's absolutely beautiful. I find that your work feels cohesive as a style, but there's also real variation, pieces like Nervous in the Newness read differently. I'm curious about your influences, what you pull from when you create.

Tyler: I love David Hockney, one of my biggest inspirations. I love the way he manipulates 2D space, his work is flat but has so much depth, that's one of my favorite things he does well.

Basquiat is a heavy influence too, specifically how he handles the edges of his marks. His paintings have marks that look chaotic, but they're actually very controlled, he knows exactly what he's doing when he puts the oil stick or acrylic down. It doesn't look calculated, but it is. There's a very free element to his work, but also moments where you can see the decision. I think that's beautiful. A lot of my own work has chaotic marks, and then moments of structure within it, sometimes literal boxes in the middle of chaotic things. I think that comes from him.

Henry Taylor is another one I fell in love with. He paints a lot of friends and people he knows, in acrylic, in a way that feels familiar, nostalgic. His proportions aren't perfect, but they're readable.

Bezalel, from the Bible, is an inspiration too, one of the first people filled with the Holy Spirit, and a craftsman. He was motivating for me because I used to think God didn't care about art, because of the financial reality of supporting yourself as an artist. It was beautiful to see that He cared about craftsmen, about people making beautiful things with their hands, He did it Himself in the beginning and He still does.

And Willem de Kooning, the way he keeps his abstract work so balanced. He mixes water, oil, and solvent for these beautiful textures, I don't do that myself, but his whole process is interesting to me. He does charcoal bases, draws everywhere, then starts carving forms with paint, and if he doesn't like a section, he'll just cover the whole thing. I love how unmarried he is to his process.

Wolfgang: You found us through Instagram. What drew you to the newsletter, and where do you see yourself in the Christian art space, or the art space in general? Christian artists often end up being the only one in the room. How do you navigate that, or do you feel like you have to?

Tyler: I saw a post looking at art through a Christian lens, and it was interesting because you don't see a lot of that, actual talk about art rather than grazing over it, or only covering one specific type of Christian art. I think it's beautiful to see the beauty in all art, even when the artist isn't a believer, and it's important to dive deep into things, because if you don't, you might miss something. I didn't know Van Gogh was a believer until then. I appreciated what you all were doing, and I started following.

As for where I see myself, honestly, I want to take my work everywhere. I've shown in galleries where I'm seemingly the only believer there, and I don't mind, because my work holds the weight of Christ's work in my life, and it's my duty to share the gospel, even if I'm the only one doing it in that room.

I used to be afraid of that. But when you understand that God doesn't play about you, that He cares about you, that even if you're the only one there, or the only one being vocal about it, He's there with you and nothing will happen to you, it changes things. I've been in wild places in LA where it felt intimidating, and I'm there to do His work. It's amazing to see other believers in those spaces watching, and I want to be the one person who's vocal, the one who inspires the ones just watching. I'd love to be in New York, in gallery spaces, in niche and secular places where this isn't even the conversation, and bring Him wherever I go. It's not just a job, it's the Great Commission.

Wolfgang: Are you working as a full-time artist right now?

Tyler: Yeah, I'm full-time. I used to work in coffee, almost six years. There was a point where I told myself I'd leave if the job ever clashed with my Sundays, since I value my time with Him, but it never actually came to that. The Lord brought it to my attention, He was like, you were ready to leave anyway, so what's stopping you? I'll give you favor here, but what if I give you favor outside of this too, doing what I called you to do, sharing my word with my people through the gifting I gave you, the experiences you've had with me, the emotion, the impact, the struggles, I'll help you do it.

He's been sustaining me, and I've seen the growth, not even just financially, but in seeing what He does in my life outside a nine to five, that He really will take care of you. Even when it feels like it's down to the last string, a bill is due, I need to eat, He supplies it. There were times a bill was about to hit at midnight, it's ten p.m., and I'm like, Lord, I trust you, my circumstances don't compare to who you are, and within the next thirty minutes I'd sell a painting. He sends it. Being a full-time artist is great, it can be hard, but it's possible.

Wolfgang: Last question. Where do you see yourself going forward? What's your mission within your creative work, maybe in the next year?

Tyler: I want to be in New York, physically, that's where I want to be. It feels like my roots aren't growing here anymore, there's just this longing to leave. I don't know how He's going to do it, but I'm going to go, that's where I see myself in the next year.

Creatively, I feel like I'm in a weird place of development. It's tough, there are things about my own work I don't like anymore, and it's been happening more often, which I've learned means development is happening. It's like when your taste grows above your ability, and you're trying to close the gap in the middle. I'm inching toward it, still figuring it out, but I'm not stopping. I think that dissatisfaction is what can make an artist quit, thinking maybe I'm just not good enough. But no, it's time to push further into your practice, and trust that God will give you the inspiration, or pull out what He's already put inside you. It's a perseverance thing.

Spiritually, I'm trying to get to the other side of taking myself seriously and actually moving to New York. It's a spiritual battle of belief, believing in myself the way God believes in me. That'll be the growth, the stretching of my faith, moving somewhere entirely different.

Wolfgang: Well, hey man, I really appreciate you speaking with me.

Tyler: Yeah, man, of course.

Contact Information
Van Gotti
Contact: (909)450-6248
Web: tylervanay.com
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