Wild at Heart, Painting with Taylor Lee
INTRODUCING TAYLOR LEE OF @TAYLORLEENICHOLSON
Taylor Lee is a color-obsessed artist with a passion for communicating through acrylic paintings. She is from a small, rural town in North Carolina. She is most recognized for her bold use of concentrated color that often incorporates free-spirited marks that create dichotomies between the wild and thoughtful, the bold and vulnerable. Taylor is also vocal about her experience with mental illness. She finds ways to bring the reality of a stigmatized mental illness into a celebratory light, creating paintings that are buzzing with energy, movement, and loud colors. You can learn more about her at www.taylorleepaints.com
TAKE A LOOK AT TAYLOR LEE'S PROCESS:
Taylor Lee is very transparent about her struggle with mental illness and has transformed its meaning and effect to use it as her Superpower. Sharing her ups and downs and real journeys through mental well-being has become as much a part of her process as the actual use of paint. Her story is inspiring and continues to shed a light on living with bipolar, anxiety and depression and that it does not need to stop you from living the life of your dreams. That's why Taylor takes what was shunned by society and normalizes something all too many of us go through to use it as a strength in creating her powerful signature style of painting.
“Developing your voice as an artist takes time. If you go into this with an unrealistic expectation of finding your voice in a week, a month, or even a year, you are in denial. I’ve gotten a lot closer to finding my style in the past year, but I’m still developing. We are ALWAYS developing.”
A FEW FUN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TAYLOR:
1. Taylor has been obsessed with Lisa Frank stationary and stickers her entire life. She used to get the stationary kits in the 90s and literally never use them because she didn't want to "mess them up." Such a perfectionist!
2. Her favorite karaoke song to perform is "It's All Coming Back to Me Now," by Celine Dion. She is soooo good at it!
3. Taylor has lots of tattoos, but her favorite is on her back, so she never sees it. It's a bust of a cardinal with a stormy sea behind him.
4. Frida is her dog's name, but she almost named her Murph so that she could constantly quote Matthew McConaughey from Interstellar. "Don't make me leave like this, Murph!!!!" Here's what she's talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clEaI8fqcPk
5. She can't go a day without sparkling water.
YOUR TURN: GO BIG!
Don't fear the big, white canvas. Just splash some paint and get moving. Even with acrylic mediums, you have to work fast to get the blending right. Use that as an opportunity to get loose with your brushwork and don’t focus too much on the small details until you’re closer to the end. Step back and forth a lot to see your piece from further away. This helps keep the big picture in mind.
A Few Acrylic Paints Taylor likes to use:
Mediums Taylor likes to use with her acrylic paints:
Golden Artists Colors Acrylic Polymer Medium GAC 100
Golden Artists Colors Wetting Agent for Flow Release
Golden Artists Colors Retarder Additive for Slow Drying
TAYLOR LEE ART GALLERY
