Meet Madeleine West | Illustrator & Aspiring Art Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Madeleine West and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Madeleine, how do you think about risk?
To me, risk is a necessity for any artist that aspires a creative career. I first experienced this when I began applying for my undergrad to a handful of different art schools. The Savannah College of Art and Design was at the top of my list, and I was lucky enough to get in, yet not without some concern from friends and family about choosing this path. They expressed to me the risk I already knew of following my artistic dreams. Yet, here I am five years later at the start of my Masters degree in the Art Therapy program at Drexel University. I couldn’t be happier that taking that initial risk of applying to art school would lead me down a path to a career where I will get to help others through creation.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art revolves around my current environment, yet the materials I gravitate towards have always stayed consistent. So far, I have lived in Phoenix, AZ, San Antonio, TX, Savannah, GA and am currently living in Philadelphia, PA. I’ve spent the majority of my life in San Antonio, Texas which is where I had the opportunity to explore a variety of art-making methods and figure out what materials I naturally gravitated towards. For me, I have always enjoyed the simplicity of black and white or monochromatic images, which is why much of my art is made up of charcoal and pencil drawings. The way I learned “how to draw” centered around sketching the world around me, whether that be a coffee mug on a table or the faces of my friends as I sat in class. I also think it is so important as an illustrator to keep a sketchbook. If you could peek into my studio you would find a quite messy assortment of them. Yet, as I moved past my foundations classes at SCAD that were filled to the brim with still-lifes and figure studies, I found it hard to meet the shorter deadlines of my Illustration major classes. This is around the time that I invested in an iPad and versed myself in the world of digital art. I had previously taken a class on Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, but never imagined I would use them in the future for drawing. I have SCAD to thank for teaching me the ins and outs of these and other digital programs, and my current portfolio reflects the growth I have gone through in this learning process. These days I find myself doing a mix of traditional and digital illustrations and have gotten into making GIFs recently. Yet, because of the nature of the Art Therapy program I am currently in, I’ve been enjoying digging through my supplies and reaching for things like acrylic paint, glitter, and even collage. If I could give a piece of advice to an aspiring artist, it would be to focus on process, not product. Keep creating no matter what.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Hmmmm. This is so tough to answer concisely! As of now, I have been living in Philly for just under three months. So with this limited amount of experience, I would definitely focus on the awesome food and art scene this city has to offer. In a historic part of town called Old CIty, there is a row of small art galleries where I would probably begin the day. My dad actually just came to visit me and we did exactly that, followed by a quick stop off at Pat’s for a Philly cheesesteak. After this I would take a stroll in this lovely Fall weather around the Capitol building in Center City and walk along the tree lined Benjamin Franklin parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. After a thorough afternoon walking the museum, I’d end the day at one of my favorite restaurants, The Dandelion. If I have learned anything about this city, its that you’ll never run out of things to do or places to eat and I’m excited to continue exploring!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to the best high school art teacher I could have asked for Ms. Megan Church! Thank you for encouraging me to keep creating and always supporting me.

Website: Madeleinejwest.com

Instagram: @art.mjw

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleine-west/