Life & Work with Kenyada West

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenyada West.

Hi Kenyada, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It all began when I was 8 years old, in Memphis, TN., watching my oldest brother (Jamarcus) draw a picture of my niece one day and I was thinking to myself, “how did he make that drawing look exactly like that picture of her?” I thought it would be easy to do, so I tried it myself. Needless to say, I failed at it haha. My brother found out that I was trying to draw like him, so he started teaching me what he knew and also taught me how to draw better.

After drawing for 10+ years, drawing Dragonball Z pictures and Pokémon, at the age of 18, I decided that I was going to switch over to sports and let Art go. That idea went straight out of the window when my cousin saw my art folder and the work that was in it and told me to never let my talent go to waste and that I should do something with it, by going to college and pursuing a degree with my talent, so I did.

I took his advice and I let it sit in the back of my mind for a few days I told myself, “That’s it!” and I was going to take his word for it. So, with that decision, I applied for college classes for the 2009 Fall Semester at Southwest College in Memphis.

Sadly, not too long after applying for college, maybe a month or so, my cousin was murdered. I never got the chance to tell him the good news about me applying for college and pursuing a career in Art and that feeling still sticks with me today, that the person who inspired me to do this, can’t even watch the progress of it all happen. I’m sure he’s watching over me though, but, it’s not the same.

A few years passed, it was 2012 and I moved to Cookeville, TN. As soon as I moved to Cookeville, I made a few friends within like my first 3-4 days of living there. One of those friends, Taylor Seay, remained by my side as a friend from 2012-present. I look at her as my little sister and to this day, we still motivate each other to do positive things with our lives. In 2015, I started driving 18-wheelers and I took a break from Art, in order for me to put more time into that career.

I have other people in my life also, who motivated me, day in and day out to keep going. My wife Rebecca, my Mom, other members of my family, a few close friends of mine, and most definitely my children. Without these people in my life, I don’t know where I would be right now. In 2013, I decided to start up a business called “Pencil Me In Incorporated” with the help of my Mom picking the name for the business, which I’m still working on getting a license for.

Fast forward a few more years to 2017 and that’s where my life took a turn for the worst, yet again. On February 4th, 2017, I lost my best friend, which was my grandma. When she passed away, I realized that life is too short and that I should live it the best way that I could and not keep putting off things that I want to accomplish, because tomorrow is never promised.

With that thought, I picked up on Art again, and from that day forward, I never let it go. All of the people that I named in this part are the ones responsible for me being the person that I am today and they’re also the reason that I’m in the position that I am in now and they will never go unnoticed.

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?
Honestly, no! I say there’s no such thing as a smooth road of travel, when it comes to living life, enjoying hobbies, or anything of that nature. No matter what you do in life, there will be hurdles that you have to jump over and if you just so happen to fall because you jumped too early or too late, then just get back up and keep going.

Some of the struggles for me along the way, were mostly deaths that occurred, from losing close friends to losing family members dying left and right, to losing jobs and losing everything that I’ve earned along the way. It came to a point in my life, where I had everything that I needed in life and within no time, those same things that I worked years to get, house, cars, etc. were all gone, within just a few days. From all of that being gone, I thought it was over for me and I went to sleep on that thought.

The next morning, I looked myself in the eyes in the mirror and told myself, that it was time for a restart, instead of giving up. Let this be a lesson to everyone out there and it can happen to anyone. No matter how many lemons life throws at you, grab a pitcher and a sign that says you’re selling lemonade. As easy as it was to fall down, it’s just as easy to get back up and keep going.

Nothing in life is hard to do, it’s just when you put that thought in your mind, your brain makes you think that is, then there you go believing it is. Never stop!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an artist born and raised in Memphis, TN but currently residing in the Cookeville, TN area. I specialize in different mediums of art, such as Graphite Art, and Acrylic Paint, I’m also learning how to do tattoos and learning from my brother how to paint and work on cars.

A little off of the subject here, but I am mostly known for my height haha, cause I’m around 6’11 – 7’0 (and no I don’t play basketball anymore due to a left knee injury lol). I’m very proud of who I was and I know some people would say that’s weird, but without being the person that I once was, I wouldn’t be the person that I am now and I know now, what lifestyle to avoid.

What sets me apart from others, is that I do things that people don’t expect me to do at my height and age and I’ve also done things that people didn’t expect me to do. Basically, a jack of all trades.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I know these words have been floating around a lot throughout the years, but I always go by the sayings, “Sometimes it’s not what you know, It’s who you know” and also the saying “It only gets worse before it gets better!”

If you don’t know anyone or hang around anyone to get that type of mentor or network assistance, then definitely put in the work yourself and self-advertised your work. It doesn’t matter if you have to post it every day, post it anyway. Eventually, someone will see it and you will be known to the world before you even try to post the next one.

You’ll go to sleep one day, with no phone calls or text messages, to waking up to over 100+ inboxes and a full voicemail box, just not from bill collectors this time. Lol. It’ll be an opportunity. Trust the process! No work shown equals, no progress toward success. No one will know what you do until you show them!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/pencilmeinincorporated
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/artworkbykenyada
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/ken_the_artist
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/kentheartist89