Though a paintbrush could be found in hand since before she could walk, Kim West began her formal college education as a pre-law student at Smith College. At Smith, West appreciated a picturesque New England college experience. Quickly upon arrival however, her course schedule became disproportionately studio-heavy. Inspired and encouraged by professor and artist Elliot Offner, West ultimately decided she wanted to focus in the studio full time, and transferred to The Rhode Island School of Design (with only one parental eyebrow raised ever so slightly at the shift in priorities). At RISD, West began to learn the practice of painting, fell in love with her future husband, and graduated from the Painting Department in 1998. Following graduation, West and her husband spent time in parts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Florida while renovating their live-work lofts, each of which they promptly moved from once the paint was dry. After launching a nonprofit gallery space in Western Massachusetts, and then giving birth to their first son, West and her husband listed the pros and cons of a life in NYC vs. one in LA on the back of a magazine at dinner one night. In 2004, they got lucky on Craigslist and chose avocado trees over the prospect of negotiating a stroller in the subway, and thus migrated to Southern California. They traveled across the country with (among many other things) an easel strapped to the roof of a U-haul trailer, and LA said hello with an epic sherbet and cotton candy sunset. West began showing in Boston, MA galleries immediately upon her RISD graduation. Her work continues to be exhibited nationally, and is collected and commissioned by everyday people, art collectors, celebrities, corporations, and educational institutions. In 2009, at the opening reception of “There Were No Survivors,” a fan of her studio work asked if she would be interested in painting on the exterior of a building wall. Intrigued, West accepted the commission and thus began painting murals in addition to her studio work. West’s murals can be seen in television shows and commercials, film productions, print ads, music videos and of course, in countless selfies & captures via Instagram. West lives and works in the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District with her husband and two sons.
