Meet Toni Taylor | Visual Artist

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

Hi Toni, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
In a sense, I feel that my creative journey chose me. I was born with a myriad of health problems and had to be isolated quite a bit. In my isolation, crayons and coloring books were constant companions and I was content with them. For better or worse, I was one of those kids who did my best to color INside of the lines lol.. so I made it a goal to be neat. My pediatrician often asked his little patients to draw pictures for him. He told my mom that he saw something different about my drawings that stood out from most of the other kids.. apparently he saw potential and encouraged her to encourage me which she did. After my family moved from my birthplace of Mt. Vernon, NY to New Haven, CT, I had a elder cousin who would send me boxes of art supplies from NY for me to experiment with. She wasn’t an artist and didn’t know graphite from charcoal, but when she’d send random supplies, it was like Christmas for me! I’d receive more coloring books, the Big box of crayons with the sharpener in the back, sketch books, acrylics, oils, colored pencils, pastels, canvas boards, paint-by-number kits on velvet and even a device that melted colored wax for textured art. I’m sure that would be prohibited now for kids under 8 but I was always careful with it. There was lots of trial and error but I had fun with all of the supplies. Moving forward to grade school and high school, I was often the class artist painting the holiday boards, painted posters for friends and was elected to head the decorating committees for junior and senior HS prom. I didn’t have the best direction when it came time to choose a college. The only thing that held my interest was art but I wasn’t led to believe it could be a viable career, only a hobby. I did have an interest in fashion design so I moved back to NY and attended the Fashion Institute of Technology thinking that would be a good vocation to pursue. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel fulfilled at F.I.T. but I was continually drawing and painting on my own. A turning point in my life came in the guise of a wrong number.. aka serendipity/synchronicity.. there are no coincidences! The caller apologized for disturbing me, I said you’re not disturbing me, I’m just drawing.. Oh, you’re an artist? I’m the chairman of the film department at the School of Visual Arts! We talked for an hour! At that time I was unemployed but looking for a job. He suggested that I could be an artist model there until something better came along, at least I’d be in an artistic environment. I ended up working there for 2 years. It paid my bills and I was able to connect with some of the instructors for critiques of my art which was very helpful. One of the instructors was a professional illustrator, Charles Lilly. He saw my potential and invited me to be his assistant. I stopped modeling and worked with him full time. I learned so much during the time I worked for him.. handling clients, keeping books, shooting models for reference and painting his under-paintings so all he had to do was touch them up and send them off to the clients. We held down a busy studio. After a couple of years of that, I was ready to spread my wings and head out on my own. I worked on my portfolio and started approaching art directors at magazine and book publishers to do cover art. I’ve always had a love for sci fi and fantasy genres. My first book cover was a novel by sci fi writer Michael Moorcock and my first magazine cover was for Heavy Metal in ’85. I collected Heavy Metal mags so that was a dream come true.. and I was the 1st woman of color to paint a woman of color on their cover, I’m very proud of that! It’s a long story but these were the humble beginning of my artistic career that’s lasted over 40 years!

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.
I am a full-time artist who works with oils, graphite and charcoal as my primary mediums. I also enjoy creating mixed media pieces integrating oil or acrylic paint, wood, copper wire and other natural elements to create one of a kind 3D works of art. Some of my favorite subjects to paint are what I call ‘Soul Portraits’. I can capture a likeness well but I also like to channel the essence of a person, who they are on the inside or perhaps their energy from another incarnation. I bring them to life in a unique way on canvas or wood with what they may wear or be surrounded by. I can do ‘presidential’ portraits as well but soul portraits are a lot more fun! I also enjoy creating Goddess imagery and odes to the spirit of Gaia, Mother Earth as a theme. I’ve painted some pieces that speak to endangered species that need more attention given to them and I intend to do more as, sadly, the list grows daily.

My artistic journey has been long and arduous but also rewarding. I’ve been blessed to connect with some really amazing people and experiences along the way. Some have been instrumental in offering opportunities that have made an impact in the direction I took. A couple of the more difficult challenges I’ve gone through was having 2 near death, flat-lining experiences from asthma attacks a year apart. The 1st was the result of working in toxic environments in the scenic industry for 11 years in Florida at places like Disney and Universal Studios. It could be exciting at times working in the park environments and learning different techniques. Most people have no idea what really goes into creating these magical spaces. There were often several crews working side by side from construction to the finishing touches using a wide variety of materials. I was the canary in the mine as my asthma became chronic. After the first NDE in ’16, I no longer felt safe working in those environments and needed time to recuperate. That prompted my move to Georgia as my sister wanted me to live closer to her. The 2nd NDE was from black mold in a plumbing closet the building inspector failed to notice when she and I ended up buying a house together. It was very difficult to start from scratch twice especially in a place where I knew no one, was running out of the resources I had while trying to recover physically, mentally and emotionally. Half of the time I was expecting another asthma attack to take me out again.. for good. It was a real mind trip that I didn’t overcome easily. One thing it did do was to solidify my resolve to work on my art and rediscover my artistic voice. Art became my therapy. Scenic work can both giveth and taketh away. I made a decent living but at the cost of my personal creativity and health. I’m happy that I’ve been able to reclaim it and have been fortunate to connect with some good souls along the way who’ve provided opportunities to introduce my work to new audiences. This is ongoing. Unfortunately I’m at a distance from Atlanta’s cultural scene but I get there when I can to engage with the ATL art world while private commissions help to sustain me. I’m proud that I continue to follow my path as an artist and haven’t given up even when going through difficult times. We are all unique, sovereign individuals with our own stories to tell. I’m glad I’m still here to tell mine through my own artistic voice.

You’ll see in my site and social media addresses that I use the name Starchild Art and think of myself as a star seed. I adopted the tag Starchild many years ago from a song by Level 42 as I resonated with the lyrics. I have a great interest in metaphysics, cosmology, and dare I say, interaction with otherworldly beings and Earth’s extensive history with them. So if it’s cosmic, it has my attention! Here is a verse from the song:

‘Way up high above the sky all that beauty passes by, whole worlds still unknown.. and out beyond the blue there’s a place for people too, it’s time for us to go. We have time (In my dreams), time and space while we’re young (Floating free) we can chase the stars. Searching for the magic in the universe guided by the stars that light my way, I have seen the sun shine bright in paradise. I am just a Starchild born in space. If you want to go with me I’ll take you there, I’ve been shown these secrets face to face. I have seen the sun shine bright in paradise. I am just a Starchild born in space.’

We are all born from the stars and to the stars we shall return!

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?
I can’t say that I’m well versed in the hot spots of the metro Atlanta area and I’m not a night life person. Unfortunately my little town of Dacula doesn’t offer a lot in the way of culture or excitement but I do enjoy entertaining at home. When my bff from Florida came to visit me, we went to the Georgia Aquarium, the Center for Puppetry Arts (we both love The Dark Crystal puppetry) and visited a few local parks to hike, sit by the water and commune with nature. We also went to a local farm to hang out with the animals and collected gourds to paint. She’s also an artist so we were content sharing creative sessions together.. that’s a happy place for me. At this stage of my life, I prefer intimate settings and deep conversations. I can recommend some great galleries though.. Zucot, Emma Darnell Aviation Museum, BAIA, Mason Fine Art, The ArtsXchange, CBrooks Gallery and The Scene in Alpharetta to name a few. I’ll be exhibiting some work in group shows at The Scene in September in the Beyond Boundaries exhibit at the Hidden Gallery on Peters St in November.
It’s rare for me to go out to a restaurant since I love to cook and have been told I’m pretty good at it so I prepared some deliciously special meals for us. I actually have a salmon recipe and artwork in a cookbook by artists who cook.. Contemporary Masters Artists Creations Cookbook published by my friend and fellow artist, the late Arthur Dawson. I’m in great company with the likes of LaShun Beal, George Nock, Paul Goodnight, Gilbert Young, Poncho Brown and Annie Lee!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would first like to acknowledge my sister friend Darnelle Louis-Jacques for nominating me to be a part of this series. My family and circle of friends also deserve recognition as they have been my cheerleaders through the ups and downs of life, helping me to realize that when things get rough, quitting is not an option. I’ve learned so much from life experiences and interactions, both good and bad, and the education never stops. I thank every client I’ve ever had in my long, and sometimes challenging, history of commercial, scenic and fine art for entrusting me to provide them with works they appreciated and cherished while they provided me the opportunity to make a living doing what I love. Every smile and tear of gratitude are added treasures to my heart and soul!

Website: https://StarchildArtbyToniTaylor.com

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonitaylor007 ; https://www.facebook.com/StarchildArtByToniTaylor

Image Credits
All photo credits: Toni Taylor