After years of painting thickly textured abstract canvases in her cold, dark Montclair garage, West has moved into a bright and airy studio in downtown Oakland. The light-reflecting white walls and frequent mingling with neighboring artists has already marked her artwork.

"I used to do pretty contemplative work, and you can see now I'm not doing so much meditative work," says West, standing in the middle of her clean, new space at Swarm Studios at Jack London Square.

A recent batch of her paintings hangs on the walls and rests on easels. A few whirling, kinetic brush strokes dig into each squarish canvas. And a single color, such as orangy-red, turquoise or metallic copper, dominates most pieces.

An art major in college, West took a detour designing and building homes for about 30 years before becoming a full-time artist in the last few years. She's found the East Bay to be a lively, nurturing environment in which to make the switch.

"I'm happy to know that the city I live in is supportive of arts activity," says West, who wears a denim work shirt over an orange T-shirt and paint-streaked black pants. "I've really enjoyed seeing the art work in public places, which means we're going to have art in parks and open space and places for people to gather."

As East Bay artists often find, support isn't limited to the city in which an artist lives. It's one reason the area has sprouted one of the densest artist populations in the nation, behind New York and Los Angeles.

On this day, for instance, West is preparing to close up her studio for two weeks. She's headed to Sakai, a suburb of Osaka, Japan, for an artists' exchange program organized by the city of Berkeley.

"The East Bay has wonderful communities that support the arts," says El Sobrante-based muralist Hershell West (no relation to Tracy West). "I personally moved here from Florida to do murals. Research showed that the East Bay was a supportive environment for mural making."

West paints his share of murals honoring pioneers and cities' historic roots, but he also enjoys adding unexpected scenes to a neighborhood's landscape. One of his favorites can be found on the exterior of a Victorian apartment building at 12th and West streets in Oakland.

With an architect's help, a past owner had covered up some windows, leaving the wall looking out of balance. So, the muralist painted trompe l'oeil windows on the facade.

"We wanted to do something interesting happening in the windows," he says.

So, he filled the mural with a cast of characters taken from the building's residents.

"The girl who lived upstairs, she was (painted) in a dream state looking at the other end (of the building)," Hershell West says. "Another guy, Dave, was reaching out the window trying to catch a dove."

When he first moved to California, West planned to settle in San Francisco but soon found that $1,800 per month for a space with no bathroom wouldn't work.

"It was over my head in terms of affording a place to live and making my art," he says. "The East Bay was much more agreeable to my pocket(book)."

He quickly made connections at the Richmond Art Center and later helped the founders of the annual The Art of Living Black show find a home at the center.

Today, he's board president for Pro Arts in Oakland, a nonprofit visual arts organization and gallery.

"Cities have gotten the word that arts attract new business," he says. "It improves your quality of living."

It also attracts tourists, who want to visit area galleries and museums, he adds.

Several East Bay cities, including Berkeley, Hayward, Fremont, Oakland and Richmond, as well as Alameda County, participate in "percent for the arts" programs. That means whenever the city or county approves one-time construction and improvement projects, such as upgrading a library building or re-paving a major road, a small percentage of the project budget must go toward public art. Most percent for arts programs call for 1 to 2 percent of the project price tag to benefit the arts.

Always a challenge

Although the East Bay has proven hospitable to artists of every skill level, from emerging to superstar, it's not always easy to make a living. Those who are determined must find ways to make ends meet.

Tracy West has adopted a four-pronged strategy for ensuring success.

She's broadening her work's exposure through four galleries and retail shops, including Terrestra in Berkeley and Dayle Dunn Gallery in Half Moon Bay. She's begun making giclee prints of her work, which sell at more affordable rates than original paintings. She's also looking into licensing her images for commercial use. Finally, she's learning the practical side of the field by taking courses, such as "Business Basics for Visual Artists," a six-week program offered at Swarm.

Hershell West forecasts a sunny future for the East Bay arts climate, but he acknowledges that dwindling state and federal grants for artists and arts groups will make it an ongoing challenge.

Artists by their nature, however, are creative problem-solvers, he says.

"If you look at a blank canvas, there's nothing there," he says. "You have to make something happen."

Taking the same approach to the business side of art, he says, should lead to success.

"We're in challenging times," West says. "But we're also in times that give artists fuel for imagination."

Where to go

Contemporary - Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, (510) 642-0808 or http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, (415) 357-4000 or http://www.sfmoma.org.

Traditional:Oakland Museum of California, (510) 238-2200 or http://www.museumca.org; Legion of Honor; Cantor Arts Center, (415) 863-3330 or http://www.thinker.org/legion.

Specialized:Asian Art Museum, (415) 581-3500 or http://www.asianart.org; Judah L. Magnes Museum, (510) 549-6950 or http://www.judahmagnesmuseum.org.

Science: Chabot Space and Science Center, (510) 336-7300 or http://www.chabotspace.org; California Academy of Sciences, (415) 750-7145 or http://www.calacademy.org.

Small College: Mills College Art Museum, (510) 430-2164 or (510) 430-3250; De Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University, (408) 554-4528 or http://www.scu.edu/deSaisset.

Community: Richmond Art Center, (510) 620-6772 or http://www.therichmondartcenter.org; Bedford Gallery, (925) 295-1417.

Alternative: Creative Growth Center, (510) 836-2340 or http://www.creativegrowth.org.

Children: Museum of Children's Art, (510) 465-8770 or http://www.mocha.org; Exploratorium, (415) EXP-LORE or http://www.exploratorium.edu.

Private: Traywick Gallery, (510) 527-1214 or visit http://www.traywick.com.

Niche: Blackhawk Museum, (925) 736-2280 or http://www.blackhawkmuseum.org; Museum of Craft and Folk Art, (415) 775-0991 or http://www.mocfa.org.

Coming soon: Museum of the African Diaspora, (800) 319-6623 or http://www.moadsf.org.

Where to see local artists

Pro Arts Gallery - 550 Second St., Jack London Square, Oakland. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Free. Call (510) 763-4361 or visit http://www.proartsgallery.org. Pro Arts organizes the annual East Bay Open Studios. The 2006 event is scheduled to be held June 3, 4, 10 and 11. Preview the artists' work at http://www.mesart.com/ebos06.jsp.

Richmond Art Center - 2540 Barrett Ave., Richmond. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Free. Call (510) 620-6772 or visit http://www.therac.org. Each winter, the center features an annual group exhibition in partnership with The Art of Living Black.

Swarm Studios and Gallery - 560 Second St., Oakland. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and by appointment. Free. The private gallery and studios, among the newest in Oakland, opened in March 2006.

Hershell West - Murals by the artist may be seen at locations including: 12th and West streets in Oakland; "Sunrise Sunday" at Unity Church of Richmond, 351 28th St. in Richmond; "Century Xing," overpass at Richmond BART station, (John Wehrle muralist/Hershell West mural assistant); "We The People" in Contra Costa Costa Community College student dining room, 2600 Mission Bell Drive in San Pablo (collaborative mural with students and community members).

Tracy West - See the artist's work at: http://www.tracywestart.com; Terrestra at 2112B Vine St. in Berkeley, http://www.terrestra.com; and at Dayle Dunn Gallery, 337 N. Mirada Road in Half Moon Bay, http://www.dayledunn.com.

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