Meet Mark West | Artist, designer photographer and all-round creative

I discovered quite early in my life, that creativity and different forms of expression were exciting to me, and came relatively easy (with some practice of course). Visual art and music seemed much more exciting to me than any other extra-curricular activity, and quickly grew outward to include all kinds of visual and musical variations—so it was never just one thing that got me hooked… Things were always changing, but it always comes down to creativity, as opposed to one specific, constant medium.

It eventually led to deeper integration across photography, fine art, illustration, writing, graphic design, learning/instructional design and music (voice, percussion, writing, recording). I LOVE when all these things have the chance to be integrated in individual projects!

It’s always very satisfying to have various “products” or expressions that I can tangibly share with others in some way great or small.

This is a huge set of questions! I could easily write my next book around this. Maybe I will!

Anyway, I came from a background in art and music, received a BFA in Graphic Design, and quickly became a college graphic design teacher at numerous colleges in the northwest for almost 15 years while simultaneously practicing art and graphic design with numerous organizations. Later, I transitioned to consulting, where I would go on to build learning experiences for numerous organizations, using my creativity, graphic design, writing and learning/curriculum development skills. Oh, and may we not forget singing and drumming in numerous bands across multiple states!

It definitely wasn’t easy. But it was well worth it.

Today I am focusing on two things: Building the social media brand of “Mark West Art” with my art, graphic design, writing and photography, and doing some good work with a good organization called “WorldatWork” as a Senior Graphic Designer.

I currently live in downtown Tucson. That would be the “base of operations” as show them the town for lunch or dinner or perhaps a show. I would also make sure we spent time in the mountains, at locations like Gates Pass, Saguaro National Park or Sabino Canyon (depending on their fitness level).

My story has been brought to life over the years by a combination of many people, organizations, locations and sources. Of special note are my creative contributions with Boom Talk Media and my learning and development experiences with organizations like Microsoft. the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and most recently WorldatWork to name a few.