Lori West

The Artist’s Eye

The Fayetteville Free Weekly

2003

Lori West

Artist Lori West moved to Fayetteville from St. Louis about 19 years ago. She grew up in Little Rock, and she grew up drawing all the time. As a child she drew landscapes, whales, horses, big cats, and other wildlife. As an adult, human forms compel her most of all. For over 40 years, West has drawn and painted.

During 1975, in Searcy, Ark. West drew portraits in the courtroom murder trial of Dr. Porter Rodgers. West said the challenge was remaining detached emotionally from the proceedings. During the trial she sat quietly behind the defense attorney. Newscaster Steve Barnes would signal West if he thought someone might be a key witness. As a courtroom artist West often had only a few minutes to block in, sketch, add important features, and take notes like the person’s name and about those features that she might run out of time to draw. She hastily finished these portrait drawings in a moving car on the way to the news studio. At the news studio her portraits were immediately taken from her to be put on the 5 o’clock news. It was great exposure for West. Her name was broadcast on television statewide. The judge and attorneys also later commissioned her for law office portraits.

The part of West’s career that she enjoyed the most was working for the Arkansas Arts Council, a division of the National Endowment for the Arts. West co-wrote a grant that initiated full time art instruction for fourth through sixth grade. Through this AAC grant West became part of the “Artist in Education Roster” and provided access for all teachers to put creative techniques into every subject in addition to teaching art to children. The only drawback was that she taught about 1000 students, which made it hard to give individual attention. However, two of her students were finalists in the Barrett Hamilton art contest. One of those two won the award. West said she loves teaching art to both children and adults.

For the last two years, West has focused on her own creative expression. She has held shows of her own and participates in the MatriArts alliance. Through her years of art she has gone from black and white to color. She is returning to black and white.

“My true love is still a simple line drawn from a hand that allows the subject to set the rules of pressure, advance, and retreat.”