Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryan Mark Taylor.
Hi Bryan Mark, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My passion for art came at an early age. I remember drawing a great horned owl in grade school, and something clicked for me that day. I remember feeling the joy and satisfaction of creating something I was proud of. I was later selected from the entire grade to be one of a handful of students who could attend a special art class, and I appreciate the teacher who saw my passion and talent and helped me develop a deeper love of drawing.
I love the outdoors and spent time backpacking, fly fishing, and skiing in the Rocky Mountains near my childhood home in Utah. The landscapes in this part of the world are diverse and beautiful, influencing my early love of landscape painting.
In college in the mid-1990s, I spent two years in northern Italy, learning the language and culture. This experience opened my eyes to the great artists of the past and the rich cultural history of European art and architecture, which resonates with me today. Italy is like a second home, and I’ve enjoyed exploring each region of the country over the years.
I earned my MFA from the Academy of Art University from 2002 to 2005 and appreciate the training I received during my years in San Francisco. During that time, I became deeply interested in the history of the California Impressionists and the plein air school of painting and began entering plein air competitions across the country. The daily practice of painting from life helped me develop the skills and expertise to capture light, color, and mood in the landscape.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
An artist’s life is never a smooth road. There are ups and downs in a creative career, but I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I love for all these years. Earlier in my career, I painted so much that I developed a lot of pain in my wrist and forearm. During that time, I had to take a break from painting to let my arm heal, so I started designing and building a portable easel that I could take with me on my travels. Although I liked many features of the easel I previously owned, several things frustrated me because the design was overcomplicated, and wasn’t durable. After several prototypes, I created a new easel with a sleek and durable design. The STRADA easel was born and is now used by artists worldwide. It was the pain in my wrist that forced me to take a step back and work on a new idea, and I’m happy that I was able to do something positive with the downtime.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in plein air painting. Plein air means painting outdoors or from life rather than from photographs in the studio. Much like the French Impressionists, I believe that painting from life is my greatest muse. Three key aspects of my life inspire me to go out and paint:
First, I find inspiration in my daily life, both at home and in my studio, through morning hikes and bike rides. I have created an extensive series of paintings of the creek bed and mountains near my home in Alpine.
Second, I draw inspiration from daily experiences, much like Monet, and paint intimate subjects, including my backyard farm. I grow all kinds of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers, and care for sheep, ducks, and bees, which have all become subjects in my paintings.
Third, I travel extensively worldwide and have found inspiration in big cities, traditional markets, fishing villages, rural towns, and epic landscapes across the globe. I have also developed a desire to capture these vanishing landscapes before the developing world continues to modernize.
Along with being a painter, I’m an active lecturer, entrepreneur, and world traveler, and have always loved the idea of being a renaissance man. As a painter, I’ve won top awards in national and international shows, including three top prizes in the 2022 ARC International Salon and a gold medal at the California Art Club’s annual exhibition in 2009. I’ve been regularly featured in art and design magazines, including Plein Air, American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, and Imagine FX. In addition, you can find my artwork in private corporate and museum collections worldwide, including the US, Europe, China, India, South America, New Zealand, and Hong Kong.
I teach and lecture worldwide and have taught courses at the Academy of Art University, Pixar, Sentient Academy, and the Scottsdale Artists School. In Addition, I’ve been a featured speaker at the Plein Air, CTNX, Fantastic Arts, Dragonsteel, and VisionX conferences.
As a product designer and entrepreneur, I developed a premier outdoor painting system called the STRADA Easel, now used by plein air artists worldwide. In addition, I cofounded Sentient Academy art school and the Vision X global art conference, which have inspired and taught artists at the K-12, university, and professional levels.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think persistence and a willingness to experiment, even if it means failing, are essential parts of the creative process. I approach painting much like a scientist, always experimenting and trying out new ideas and techniques. Without a strong internal drive, an artist’s career is too demanding and time-intensive to make a living. There are many times when I’ve spent extra effort getting a painting just right, but in the long run, it has always been worth it to produce quality work.
Contact Info:
- Website: bryanmarktaylor.com and stradaeasel.com
- Instagram: @bryanmarktaylor
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bryan.m.taylor1/
- Twitter: @bryanmarktaylor
