Brian West is an artist concentrating on sports, corporate, music icons and wildlife art .
” As the son of an amateur artist I became familiar from an early age with the strange smell of linseed oil and turpentine. I attended classes at Mansfield School of Art from the age of ten and the charcoaled fingers and fleeting glimpses into the life-classrooms were indelible experiences and stimulated my interest in the opposite of posed stillness. Following which, my involvement in studying figurative movement and sport combined, for if not playing football or cricket every daylight hour I was sketching some athletic action or other. I remember at this time I entered a competition in a national newspaper with a crayoned action drawing of my idol, goalkeeper Bert Williams of Wolves and England fame, and won first prize of a box of Reeves watercolour paints – which I still have! Ever since playing in goal for the junior school team – just to emulate him a little bit was powerfully all embracing.
Anyway I somehow managed to remain undiscovered by the scouts from Forest, Wolves or Notts County and found myself subsequently painting much more than playing. However perhaps just as gratifyingly I did later appear at the great Wembley Stadium … with displays of my paintings.”
Brian West
