Ray West

Ray is an up-and-coming pastel artist from Essex in the UK. He has always strived to create artworks that have detail and accuracy, and this has evolved into the hyper realism style that is seen in much of his work today.
Ray loves the challenge of bringing subjects to life using pastels and pastel pencils, ensuring the colouring, tonal values and depth are just right to make them emerge from the page. He wants the viewer to believe in its reality, whilst enjoying the original subject matter.
Ray is a self-taught pastel artist who enjoyed drawing in his early years, but then spent a career in the banking and investment industries before reigniting his passion for art in 2020. As a 20 year old, Ray recalls completing a hypothetical business plan as part of a business studies qualification. He called that business “The Perfect Picture”, never really thinking that 30 years later he would be selling art.
Initially Ray focussed on commissions taking on a wide variety of subject matter, such as animals, people and buildings but taking a special enjoyment from painting vehicles. Currently he aims to take the time to create a body of original work and drill down into refining his unique style. Recent works are starting to gain acknowledgement and awards in competitions, and Ray feels this is a very exciting chapter in his art experience. He very much continues striving to create the “perfect picture” every time.