Meet the Artist: Courtney West

Growing up in El Cajon

Courtney West grew up in El Cajon tending her family’s heirloom rose garden. Her grandparents moved from Wichita, Kansas in 1959. They settled in El Cajon – a beautiful valley filled with orange groves, horses, and its potential to grow flowers.

From an early age, Courtney studied plant and animal life. She expressed her love for the natural world through art. She was a recurrent participant of the San Diego Zoo children’s summer art program, a F.A.M.E Fine Arts Magnet Education elementary school student, and a Del Mar Fair young artist exhibitor.

After high school she moved to San Francisco chasing a career in filmography, creative direction, and post-production editing. Unsettled she has lived in British Columbia, Santa Rosa, and Atlanta, Georgia, taking jobs from bartender to sound engineer.

Coming Back Home

Courtney came back to El Cajon in 2014 to be close to her family. After obtaining a certification in Ornamental Horticulture through Cuyamaca Community College, she enrolled in a drawing class. She has since learned how to work in oil, ink wash, watercolor, and charcoal through the instruction of the college’s superb art department. She feels fortunate to have been a part of several college art shows and exhibitions at the Heritage of the Americas Museum and The Studio Door gallery.

After coming back to her roots, Courtney’s greatest passion is blending her love for science, art and naturalism into pursuing a career in science illustration. She hopes that her work in science illustration will make education about taking care of the natural world attainable for people of all ages.

In her spare time, Courtney enjoys gardening, playing piano, and painting portraits of her family. The Olaf Wieghorst Museum holds a special place in Courtney’s heart. It is the first of many museums her grandmother introduced her to.