By After moving to Sierra Nevada five years ago with her husband and three children, artist Meghan Weil has become an important part of her local community.
The Long Beach native is a well-known figure in the Southern California art world, having been featured in numerous pop surrealism galleries and local and global magazines like Hi-Fructose.
Her style takes inspiration from early cult-classic cartoons from the ‘50s and ‘60s, as well as hot rod pinup culture.
Weil is a part of what is known as the Lowbrow art movement. Originating in the ‘60s, this style was popular in the underground Los Angeles art movement and skyrocketed the career of artists such as Josh Agle or Shag, who now does work for Disney.
Weil studied her craft under another Long Beach pop culture artist, The Pizz or Stephen Pizzuro, who is known for his detailed retro pop horror-field style.
“For many years I worked for him, that’s how I got started,” Weil said. “I showed with Cannibal Flower and a lot of the galleries in Long Beach, I think most of them aren’t there anymore.”
Now living deep into the California wilderness, Weil’s art focuses on the mythical aspects of the forest; witches, Bigfoot, ghosts and ghouls that reside from the California gold rush times are featured heavily in her work.
She also incorporates local landmarks in her art, having pieces that feature popular tourist destinations such as Bodie: America’s oldest ghost town, the Travertine Hot Springs, Twin Lakes and Bridgeport itself.
The small town often gets overlooked by tourists outside the summer months, but Weil has helped with efforts to preserve its rich history while keeping it an old-school camping town.
Weil’s store, Sierra Strange, is no exception to this.
“We’re sharing the more mythical–mystical side of the Eastern Sierras, the cryptid sightings, the ghost stories. Living in Bridgeport, our town is literally a ghost town and most of it came from Bodie which is cool,” Weil said. “It’s not hard to interlace all those things together because there are Bigfoot sightings and there are witches, all kinds of fun stuff.”
Weil pays homage to her roots of Rockabilly while incorporating her love of the wilderness and all the strange things that reside among the trees.
The store is an experience in itself, featuring large sculptures of mythic creatures hovering over shoppers as they find unique gifts. Weil’s store acts as an art gallery housing everything she has created over the years.
Sitting alongside woodland taxidermy, Meghan Weil’s eye-catching paintings are a bright contrast to the usual cabin in the woods.
“We thought we wouldn’t be taken very seriously, and people wouldn’t like us, and some of the old-timers aren’t a huge fan of what we do because we are modern and we focus on the silly historical things, […] but it’s been five years and everyone’s great and they all want us to succeed,” Weil said.
Although her focus may have changed, Weil’s art is still reminiscent of the popular Tiki scene that Long Beach offers. Her art pays homage to the city’s numerous Rockabilly bars, lounges, car shows and boutiques such as Sneaky Tiki on Retro Row.
While Weil’s shop remains a living gallery in Bridgeport, she will have her art showcased at the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas in June next year.
For Long Beach residents interested in her work, she will have her art featured at Mondo Depravity, an event hosted by the Dark Art Emporium on 1st Street on November 9 at 11:30 a.m. and November 30 at 12:30 p.m.
While the backside of Yosemite does have some art galleries and a small scene, Weil said it is nowhere near the vibrant art scene in Long Beach.
“In Long Beach everything is acceptable. I can go to LA for an art show, I could go to Burbank, I could do all of these things. […] But up here I can do what I enjoy but I feel if I was still in Long Beach I could actually be participating a lot more in local art shows and events,” Weil said.
However, Weil said the Sierra Mountains provide a tight-knit community that has welcomed the artist with open arms, all with a beautiful backdrop.
“I will say I get to do what I want in Bridgeport which is awesome, and work from home while I enjoy my mountains and I paint my paints,” Weil said.
