“Art is Life Expressed,” is the most common quote spoken daily by those of the Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art, A Center for Cultural Arts. Michele West has repeated those words for years. Each time with the sincerity and depth of the first time these words were spoken, it has been said that she has inspired people to view the world in a different light.
Years ago she realized there is an art to all things. There is an art to turning on the faucet and an awareness rendered by the beauty in the water that swirls into your hands. With awareness, you let the water pour over your palms, and you begin to realize the river flowing all the way back to the rock and natural spring from where the water began. It took a great deal of creativity and effort to bring forth the water from beneath the earth’s surface and deliver it to your hands. In every day there is art to be painted. Sometimes we paint with the words that we speak. Other times, art happens as the clouds spread across the sky, the breeze blowing through the trees, the sound of contrast in a musical tone, the texture of sand as you sculpt a castle by the seashore, the swirl of cream in your coffee cup, or maybe the deep breath taken in slowly and then released into the cool crisp air. Creativity is as natural a part of the human being as the breaths that we take. These are the realities that Michele West believes are at the root of the four words spoken daily, “Art is Life Expressed.”
To the artist, art takes on a creative form in many mediums and for many reasons. For Michele, it is an unending passion that she discovered right after the turn of the century. As she experienced the beginning of her art life, she also discovered many common beliefs and sentiments previously expressed by an artist who painted his way into the last century. He was a part of a group, now known as the Eight. Robert Henri shared the belief of the individual artist learning from the masters but he encouraged them to make their own art and find their own way through each of their own experiences. Michele expresses this common belief daily within her artistry and writing. She believes that while art can be performed mechanically by anyone, true art lives when the artist uses awareness, embraces the river, connects to the inner spring and flows with the ocean tide; where there are no limits to the positive impact the artist and work can have on the world inhabited.
Cofounder of the Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art, A Center for Cultural Arts, Studio Instructor, Portrait Artist, Fine Crafts Artisan of Clay & Glass and Writer, Michele West believes her purpose is one of an individual, to gain experiences through life and contribute gathered results that show any art of creation, whether in dimensional form, atmosphere, written or good grown and replenished is a contribution with power to spread hope, compassion and sustainability for future generations.
For the Winter and Spring Seasons 2023, Michele West is accepting portrait commissions. To schedule you very own one of a kind custom portrait by Michele West, contact The Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art 334-480-2008.
