About Kathleen West

Kathleen West’s printmaking style has been the product of 40 years of hard work and artistic inspiration. Kathleen began developing her craft while earning her B.S. in art education from Rosary Hill College in the early 60s. Her early work reveals a young mother’s lifestyle where artistic influences came from children’s books and childhood themes. Over time, Kathleen’s appeal for children’s books and their detailed illustrations, led her into a second artistic phase.

Through personal research of galleries and libraries, Kathleen “discovered” the work of William Morris. Gradually, her creative energy drew upon medieval and nature themes along with literary passages and quotes. This shift in style also inspired Kathleen to begin hand-coloring her prints. With these new creative influences her prints have developed a unique pre-Raphaelite quality. The culmination of 15 years creating under William Morris’ influence, coupled with the coincidental Arts and Crafts revitalization in her hometown of East Aurora, N.Y., led to her first appearance at the Grove Park in 1995.

The painstaking, printmaking process first involves designing, drawing, and cutting the block. Once this stage is completed, Kathleen individually hand-prints and hand-colors each print with the use of a wooden spoon and watercolors. All of Kathleen’s prints run in limited edition series of 100.

Her work has a wide appeal that has attracted the attention of private collectors across the United States, Canada, and Europe; she is represented by a number of art dealers. Along with a growing following of admirers, Kathleen’s long successful career has been acknowledged by her peers as a 30-year member of the Buffalo Society of Artists and her more recent title of Master Artisan of the prestigious Roycrofters.