ABOUT KEVIN
Kevin Nance West is a professional fine artist, art entrepreneur (and art instructor) in the Indianapolis area, specializing in contemporary abstract paintings and portrait art. Kevin is the founder and CEO of West Innovations, which is responsible for custom ‘paint by number’ technology used to service over one hundred seventy-five sip and paint studios and companies (nationwide) including Storie Brush, Wine and Canvas, and Canvas and Cocktails.
Kevin studied at the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis prior to exploring business ventures in art. (Early initiatives included teaching art classes at the Boys and Girls Club of Indianapolis and hosting private portrait painting workshops.) With the goal of bringing art to everyone, Kevin launched Gifted Custom Art in 2014. Using an application called Photomatic, the process of creating and scaling custom imagery became automated. For the first time, amateur artists were able to create portraits of their loved ones using the ‘paint by number’ technique. This model was quickly licensed by (paint and sip) affiliates across the country.
(Kevin, a cancer survivor, has not let life’s obstacles stop him. Rather, they have fueled the passion for his craft. His larger than life art is filled with colorful lines of emotion dancing across the canvas.) In his twenty years as a professional artist, Kevin has experimented with a variety of mediums and concepts including mixed media and broken records. His abstract portrait art done with acrylics celebrates figures of pop culture and Black influencers, athletes, and entertainers.
In 2020, Kevin was selected by Indy10 Black Lives Matter and other community groups to help design and implement the Black Lives Matter mural along Indiana Avenue; a street that was once the center of Black life in Indianapolis.
Additional recognitions include:
500 Art Festival ‘Young Artist of the Year’
Meet the Artist: Top 50 Artists of the Decade
Judge for ISU (?) StartUp competition focused on innovation
His work has been featured in Visionary Artist Magazine, Active Life Magazine, and is currently exhibited at Serendipity Labs in the Carmel Arts & Design District. He can also be found at the website Raw: Natural Born Artists, which showcases the independent art community.
Kevin is available for commissioned art, (private painting parties) and speaking engagements.
Follow him on Instagram @ artbykwest
He welcomes your inquires at artbykwest@gmail.com