As a young boy, Rochester NY artist Paul Allen Taylor loved to draw and was influenced by his parents and brothers and sisters, who are also talented. His father was real “draftsman” and was known for his sign painting and leather carvings as well as being a popular elementary teacher. His mother was attending the New York City School of Art when she met and married Paul’s father. Paul also has two siblings, (of seven) a brother and a sister, both with degrees in Art and Design from R.I.T. in Rochester New York. Paul’s grandmother, on his father’s side, was a portrait artist. All this talent flowed into Paul through the bloodlines, and the result is a man who loves to paint and teach. With strong visual and drawing skills, he records with camera and pencil what he finds inspiration for paintings. Painting has given him a stronger sense of the world around him, which in turn makes his paintings seem more “realistic”, although he considers his style anything but realistic.
Paul’s range of subject matter contains old barns, covered bridges, lighthouses, boats, florals and anything else that stirs his interest. Spending many summers as a young boy in the Thousand Islands, Paul is inspired by the St. Lawrence River and the multitude of subjects it has to offer. Some of the scenery he observed as a boy now inspires him to pick up his brushes. The river lighthouses, guide boats and the river wildlife are all at his disposal. He has self-published several of his lighthouse paintings in limited edition Giclee’s.
Today, Paul’s routine is that of an emerging artist, working to develop his career, submitting to exhibits, showing at art festivals and publishing his own prints. He also teaches watercolor classes and workshops. Paul owns and operates his own gallery space where he works one day a week.
Paul has traveled with his family to numerous locations in search of scenery to paint, and sometimes he doesn’t have to go far. That ideal barn may be just down the road, and he’s passed it before, but one thing about it may stir his creativity on any given day. Some of his other popular images come from Cape Cod, Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick Canada, or from a combination of his own ideas and actual photos or sketches he has done.
As an artist, he believes the world has so many paintings in it to be done, they can not possibly be painted. Many times, the mind creates what the world will not reveal. Either way, painters are always in search of that ideal scene, that one image to stir their hearts. Paul’s heart is stirred by the mere act of painting. Hopefully, he can stir something in the hearts of those that view his work.
