Meet Joshua West

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua West.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I feel that it is something that has been in me since I was old enough to pick up a crayon. I had an aptitude for drawing from a very young age spending countless hours drawing on computer paper that my grandparents saved for me and sketchbooks I got for Christmas. I drew comics and loved to flip through all the National Geographic magazines that I could find drawing from photos that caught my interest. I also loved to try to recreate the cowboy paintings of Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington. I grew up in a family of cowboys, literally. In fact, my father is one of the finest saddle makers in the world and when he was younger, along with all of my uncles on that side of the family, he roped and rode bulls in rodeo. However, while I grew up riding horses with my brothers and sister, my interests’ sort of naturally evolved into other things. A number of family members could draw well, but there wasn’t really anyone who knew a lot about art or what it meant to be an artist in the sense that I understand it today. Still, I felt in my gut that somehow, I wanted to be an artist. I just didn’t know what form it would take.

For my father, it took the form of saddle making, leather carving (known as “tooling”), and silver-engraving. I felt early on that it would be different for me. However, he struggled for many years before reaching the high level of success that he enjoys today and as such, I had no illusions about how difficult it would be to pursue an artistic career. Frankly, it terrified me and I was determined to find a way to live the life of a creative person without the financial uncertainty.

After high school, I attended Texas A&M University for architecture but quickly realized that it wasn’t for me. I am a naturally curious person and so I tried out a bunch of other things looking to find a good fit. I bounced around a number of different majors including computer animation, graphic design, general studies, and even considered going into the sciences. Still, nothing felt right. We spend such a significant portion of our lives at work that the idea of spending so much of mine at a job I hated even if it made a lot of money was simply unacceptable. After all, this is America. We’re supposed to pursue our dreams. I knew what mine was but I was just too scared of how hard it would be. I eventually quit school for a year to figure out what to do with myself. I went to work for a youth camp in East Texas called Pineywoods Baptist Encampment. It was there that I met most of my closest friends and the woman I would eventually marry. In 2007, I graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with a double major in Psychology and Art.

Still afraid of the perils of an artistic career, I began working on a Master’s Degree in Counseling at the University of North Texas and got a job as a social worker at an institution for adult individuals with various forms of mental retardation called the Denton State School. After about a year, I got a different job as an investigator for Child Protective Services where I worked for a little over two years investigating allegations of abuse and neglect of children. During that time, I began a relationship with the most amazing woman I have ever met and we got married.

My wife, Kayla, has been deeply supportive of my desire to become an artist from the very beginning. She knew that the work I was doing as a social worker, while certainly worthwhile, was not the dream. I was deeply unhappy to the point of depression. Partially as a way of dealing with that, I put together my first solo show in my spare time and I sold some work and even got some media attention from a local TV channel. I also made friends with someone who was working on an MFA in Watercolor at UNT. She introduced me to Millie Giles, her major professor. After much thought and consideration with Kayla, I applied and was accepted to the program. The same year that I graduated from the program, Millie retired and I was honored to become her replacement as the head of the Watercolor Program at UNT where I taught from 2013 until 2016. I also taught classes at Richland College on the side to make extra money. During that time, I a friend introduced me to John Marcucci of Haley-Henman Gallery in Dallas who represents me to this day.

Teaching was an incredible experience and I am truly grateful for the opportunities that arose as a result of my work there. However, teaching four to five classes each semester and commuting at least an hour to and from work each day left me with no time to pursue my own artistic career much less have a family life. By then, the first of our two daughters were born. From the beginning, I knew that if I made the choice to become an artist, two things were non-negotiable. First, I would not allow my ambition as an artist to keep me from being present as a husband and father. Second, if I was going to be able to reach the level that I aspire to as an artist, it had to be my only profession. Making art on the side while being employed by someone else would never cut it no matter how many people told me it was nearly impossible. So, we saved up some money and bought a house in a town called Azle just outside of Fort Worth and I built the studio where I work today.

Please tell us about your art.
I am a painter working in a variety of media including watercolor, oil, and acrylic as well as various drawing media. The imagery that I create, portraits and surreal landscapes, is derived from an amalgamation of memory, imagination, and a massive collection of images gathered from countless sources as well as photos that I have taken both in Texas and my travels abroad.

I make the work because it is simply in me to do so and to not feels like a betrayal of myself. Furthermore, I am fortunate enough to live in a time and a place where it is possible to do so and I have the support of my family. Perhaps most importantly, I want my daughters to know that their parents had the courage to pursue their dreams the way that mine did. It is my hope that they see what it looks like to work hard in the midst of uncertainty and not be afraid.

It is my desire, not only as an artist, but as a human being existing in infinite complexity as we all do, to strive to be thoughtful about that existence. It is generally not my intention to proclaim any particular message to the world so much as to bring into being a beautiful object born out of the study of work by great artists, writers, scientists, and philosophers who came before and of the practice of being a contemplative individual. I hope to find a kinship, however abstract, with people who see my work and are hopefully moved by a genuine attempt to process the beauty and terror of life.

Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
That is no joke! There are a lot of romantic notions out there about what the life of an artist is really like. It’s not all sitting around with cool people smoking pot, drinking craft beer, and being struck by lightning bolts of inspiration. In fact, that’s not my experience at all. Chuck Close says that inspiration is for amateurs and the rest of us just show up and do the work. It is by far the hardest work I have every done physically, emotionally, and psychologically. It is an unrelenting exercise in problem solving in every aspect of your life. You will need help. If you don’t have what you need, learn how to make it. If you can’t get what you need, learn how to get by without it until you can. Do what you must to survive, within the confines of legal and moral behavior of course.

The truth is that there is no silver bullet that anyone can offer to ensure that you will make it. The only certainty that anyone can offer is that if you do not try, you will not succeed. Each artist begins at a different starting point and as such all paths will be a little different. Learn as much as you can about how artists you respect found their way and apply what you can to your own situation. For me, personally, I would never have pursued this career if it were not for the love and support of my wife. The difficult times can really put a strain on any relationship but if you’re not on the same page, it can be untenable. In my opinion, life is lived best when you have someone to share it with. And if you choose such a career, remember that life is not all about you. Make sure that you put as much, if not more, into creating a good life for your partner as they put into supporting you.

Here are some books that I found really helpful:

Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp. Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

I would like to close with a quote by the great philosopher and writer Michel Foucault that I used to share with my students all the time. “As to those for whom to work hard, to begin and begin again, to attempt and be mistaken, to go back and rework everything from top to bottom, and still find reason to hesitate from one step to the next—as to those, in short, for whom to work in the midst of uncertainty and apprehension is tantamount to failure, all I can say is that clearly we are not from the same planet.” (The Use of Pleasure, p 7)

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
People can view my work on my website www.joshua-west.com as well as at the Haley-Henman Gallery https://www.haleyhenman.com/ in Dallas, TX. I will have three works on a group show in November 2018. Artists, like anyone else have to eat, pay bills, and support families like anyone else. So, purchasing work is an excellent way to support any artist but simply sharing it with friends and on social media is also deeply appreciated. Art is only going to be appreciated if people see it!

Contact Info:

• Address: Azle, Texas
• Website: www.joshua-west.com
• Phone: 940 999 0378
• Email: joshuawest@joshua-west.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuawestart/

Image Credit:
Family photo courtesy of Kristen Giles Photography.

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