The paintings in North Carolina native’s portfolio display just one of her many talents
A native of Asheville, North Carolina, artist Mary Kay West has been on a journey of discovery since she was born. Accomplished as an artist, adept as a practicing yogi, learned as a psychologist, and elegant in style and carriage, West has a knowledge of self that emits an aura of beauty and peace from within and without.
She discovered her innate talent as an artist in 2003 when she was admitted to the Fine Arts League of Asheville with master artists Benjamin Long III and John Mac Kah. She completed studies in classical drawing and painting in 2007 and moved to the Santa Ynez Valley to paint full-time. West specializes in sharp-focus still life, birds, and, more recently, trompe l’oeil. Her work has been described as timeless, vibrant, and masterful, earning her the designation of Associate Living Master by the Art Renewal Center. She currently lives and works in Guadalupe and teaches painting classes in Los Alamos and Santa Barbara.
“I sold my first painting at 12,” said West. “A neighbor commissioned me to do a portrait of her dog. My mother was a well-known artist in the area, so I used to accompany her to her art shows. She was a watercolorist, but she taught me the basics of color and drawing. My father built me an arts and crafts station in my home, and both my parents encouraged creativity.
“My father also encouraged critical thinking and to develop an inquiring mind. He didn’t teach me things, he taught me how to learn, and there’s a critical difference. I had an ideal childhood, but adolescence kicked in, and I left home at the tender age of 16. I was in love and pregnant, and in North Carolina at that time, that would have disgraced my parents.”
West decided to flee for freedom, and the free spirit in her would not be curtailed, even though the police were looking for the runaways.
“My boyfriend and I drove from North Carolina straight through to Santa Barbara in his little Austin Healey, with the police looking for us. We rented an apartment, got married, and my daughter was born. We remained there for about a year, telling no one where we were,” she said. “That is my one regret. At the time I didn’t realize the pain it would cause my parents. But I was a free spirit and needed to venture out on my own.”
Realizing it was time to go home after reconnecting with her parents, the couple returned to North Carolina where West attended college.
“I attended the University of North Carolina and the University of Tennessee and received a degree in clinical psychology,” she explained. “I worked for the state as a clinical psychologist for 14 years, all the while wanting nothing more than to be able to express myself creatively.”
“On an existential level, I have always questioned the reason for being, what is the purpose of life, and I knew that being a psychologist wasn’t it,” she said emphatically. “As we mature, we hopefully realize the difference between living an authentic life or putting on an act. That’s what we are taught as kids — to do what we should do versus following our own inner drive.”
West decided to take up yoga because her job was not fulfilling,
“I started doing yoga as a clinical psychologist because I was so depressed,” she admitted. “What I discovered was that Western psychology was missing the boat. Western psychology focuses on dysfunctional behavior, while the higher yogic practice addresses the root of the problem, which is identification with the ego — our ego is the source of all our suffering. So, I quit psychology and started teaching yoga full-time and creating wearable art, which was sold at Macy’s. I then divorced my husband after a 14-year marriage. A year and a half later I remarried.
“A few years later I learned that master artist Benjamin Long III moved to Asheville from Italy. He started an atelierand I studied with him for four years. My second husband and I divorced after a 15-year marriage, and I subsequently moved back to Santa Barbara to be closer to my daughter, Lia. She had grown up in North Carolina but went to college at the University of California Santa Barbra. She has her doctorate in political science.”
West continued to focus on her art, painting daily, teaching yoga, and eventually began teaching painting.
“I continued to do my art, and by then I was displaying my work in Portico Gallery, and at Classic Art Gallery in Carmel,” she said. “I also continued to teach yoga, having done so for 40 years. I stopped teaching classes about eight years ago and have been focusing on my art ever since, although I still practice yoga on a personal basis. I have been teaching art for the past 18 years, once a week in Los Alamos, to carry on the classical realist tradition.”
West has recently been designated as a signature member of the California Art Club, a significant accomplishment.
“I am honored to represent the premier organization for artists in California,” she said. “Now my art can be seen at American Legacy Fine Arts in Pasadena.”
West’s art can also be viewed at Classic Art Gallery in Carmel, and Portico Gallery in Santa Barbara, as well as the permanent collection at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin.
Recently, her students from Central Coast Art League (CCAL), West’s atelier, held an exhibit at Café Joy at PARc PLACE in Solvang. The opening was extremely well attended and featured the art of some of her students: Nicole Burnett, Diane Connors, Michelle Feldman, Sally Jones, Pamela Macall, Karen Tuttle, and Rachelle Witt. West’s art was also on display. This impressive group of women meets once a week in Los Alamos under the guidance of West. The exhibit will remain at Café Joy until the end of June.
For more information, visit marykaywest.artspan.com or email mrykywest@yahoo.com
