Tommy Taylor + bio | statement | press
In the past, I made work that had a social commentary, political point of view or personal narrative as a theme. Today, I feel those things are better expressed in other ways through other mediums. Currently, I am working on abstract paintings that are not informed by day-to-day living. They do not reflect, nor are they inspired by, external realities like people, places or things. Instead, they are born of an internal reality, which is more dialectic, amorphous, and unconscious.
I do not work from sketches; I work intuitively and directly on the surface. I start with color washes and pencil marks to give myself a fertile field from which I start to see what the painting has to offer, much like finding images in cloud formations. The paintings evolve through the process organically – they grow and dissolve, collapse and expand in ways that I cannot predict prior to making the first stroke on a canvas. I do not know what will become of a painting at the outset, just as one cannot predict the outcome of a game of chess prior making the first move. Each mark changes the dynamic of the completed piece. I am part of the medium; I am neither more nor less important than the paint and canvas.
While there are formal considerations such as line, color, and composition, I am ultimately more concerned as to how a painting feels rather than how it looks. My paintings are directed by spirit and intuition more than intellect.