Meet Taylor Goodwyn | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Goodwyn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
To be honest it kind of just happened. I’ve been painting for a decade but never thought I could do it as a career. I was getting miserable with my 9-5 agency job, kept switching companies, but it wasn’t them—it was me. When I lost my most recent job during the COVID-19 pandemic, I didn’t take it well. So I started to paint more during all this free time I now had. Big bold colors and strokes on large canvases and huge textured paper. The more I painted, the better I felt, and the more I shared my art on social media, the more people would reach out and ask if the paintings were for sale. Every DM was such an encouragement, I still have them as screenshots on my phone. I couldn’t believe people I knew (or didn’t know at all) actually wanted to own something I created. It blew my mind. I created a separate Instagram for my art, and it took off from there. It still didn’t feel real until I got my LLC and that was when I had a moment of, “Wow, this is happening. My job is to create and share art.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Is it cliche to say that art chose me? I’ve struggled ever since high school on what I should do career-wise. I graduated from a school of fine art but didn’t pursue it in college because I didn’t think I was good enough to make it sustainable. I bounced around a couple of different majors in college until I landed on writing, something that came more naturally to me but I was still skeptical of making a career out of. This led to my short career as a Social Media Manager when I moved to Atlanta. I enjoy writing, but agency life just wasn’t for me. I tried painting on the side but the more emersed I got into my writing career, the more anxious and depressed I became. I wasn’t happy but wasn’t making a big enough change other than just looking for new places to work. Social media (as it tends to do) changes very quickly, and my roles became more about management—and very little to do with writing. It finally hit me that the more creative I was, the happier I was on a daily basis. I figured I was trying so many things other than art… why not go back full circle, maybe it was what I was meant to do all along.

Luckily, I was able to pull from my previous years of studying art at a specialty center and skipped straight to the mediums and type of art I truly loved to paint. Big, abstract, and colorful works. I’ve always pulled a lot of inspiration from nature, flowers especially, even if you can’t tell in the final product. There’s something about the colors and composition that exist naturally in nature, it’s like it’s doing the work for me—I just recreate what I see with my own spin.

So no, parts of this journey were definitely not easy, but it was worth it. Every time I sell a painting, hand over a finished commission, or have someone stop me and tell me they’re following along online, I do a little (big) happy dance.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
At night I definitely recommend the bars in Midtown. We used to live right by Piedmont Park and that was the most fun time going out. Everyone in that part of Midtown is just so happy to be there and living their best lives, it’s always a crowd-pleaser when friends visit. I also always feel the need to take everyone to Sister Louisa’s and the Clermont Lounge. I’ve even taken my brother and sister-and-law. My mom and husband for some reason decided to wait outside.

During the day, I always recommend the High Museum of Art, especially for my fellow art-loving friends. I can’t go there enough.

As far as where to eat, I would say must-stops though are anything on the beltline from Krog Street Market to Ponce City Market, The Consulate, Café Intermezzo, and of COURSE you can’t leave without getting some lemon pepper J.R. Cricket’s wings.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First, I have to shout out The Reverie, where my studio space is. The Reverie allowed me to separate my “work” and my personal life at a time where my hobby suddenly became my source of income, and I could come in, be myself, and let loose on my own schedule. I moved my studio from my small apartment to the Reverie and was constantly surrounded by powerful, creative women. It’s truly an amazing community.

I also want to shout out my Buckhead Chuch small group, especially Mike D Shot Me, for encouraging me to go after my dreams and not just settle. They’re such a great support system.

Lastly, I have to recognize my best friend and husband, who pushes me every day to keep trying and to do what I love. He’s a really special person, and I wouldn’t be in Atlanta, much less doing what I love for a living in this city without him.

Website: taylorgoodwynart.etsy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorgoodwynart/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taylorgoodwynart

Image Credits
Kelsey Butcher Photo Little Wing Visuals