Daily Inspiration: Meet Todd Westover

Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Westover.

Hi Todd, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I recently saw a memory on Facebook of one of my first paintings from ten years ago. I thought it was more like seven or eight. Ten years sounds way longer. This memory seems like a lifetime ago. It’s one of my favorite paintings and I’m still trying to recapture what I did there. I started painting with my young children. I wasn’t thinking about it too much. I would just paint. I knew I had something. I wasn’t trying to copy anybody or paint in a certain way. I was just doodling this flower shape that I’ve always drawn. That painting represents a huge life change. Not just creatively but in all aspects of my life as I knew it at the time. It changed who was. I became an artist.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest challenge has been finding time to paint. I moved from a house in the hills and painting on my kitchen table to a loft in the Brewery Arts Complex where my focus has been on my work. I have a great space that lends itself perfectly to what I do. I think many artists faces the struggle of getting inspired and jumping in. I don’t often have that problem.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Basic design guidelines like composition and color choices have a big influence on my paintings. I have this curved shape that I paint and if you put the curves together, they look like a flower. Although I don’t feel like I’m painting flowers. I’m actually painting a Flower-Power sticker I had as a kid in the 60s. In fact, when I’ve tried to make the shape 3-D, like a real flower, it doesn’t work. I was recently asked in an interview if I really loved flowers. I realized that is the impression people might get. “Oh, that guy must really love flowers because that’s all he paints.” Sure, I appreciate flowers. But I’m not painting flowers. The repetitive curve has become a brushstroke. A kind of signature. The quality of that stroke is constantly changing. Sometimes It seems like I’m not doing it well. Not that there’s a right or wrong way to do it but, sometimes it just doesn’t look that cool. And sometimes it looks amazing. It kind of has a life of its own. I am proud of the fact that I have created this little niche for myself. Other people paint curves and lots of folks paint flowers. But none of them look like mine. I’m able to paint houses, portraits, landscapes, ships in the harbor, and flowers and vases. All of it using that curve. My color palette also has a unique twist. There’s always several colors involved. But somehow, I have achieved this nostalgic look. Everything looks like it came from another era. I don’t really try to do this. It’s just how it’s all working out.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Work. Do your thing. Pursue the dream.

Contact Info:

• Website: westovertodd.com
• Instagram: @westovertodd
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/todd.westover.104