ST. GEORGE —From paintings that mourn the loss of multiple miscarriages to sketches of Utah national parks on a tortoise’s back, this Southern Utah artist chose to pursue her own dreams.
“It’s kind of like Oscar Wild’s book, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’” artist Audrey Taylor said. “Whatever is inside you shows up on the canvas.”
Taylor said she’s been drawing for as long as she can remember. After a friend gifted her an oil painting set in high school, it turned her on to a variety of paints, including acrylic.
“I really wanted to go to school for art,” she said. “But I come from a family of all accountants and engineers, and they kind of told me that art was a hobby, it’s not a career. And I couldn’t make any money doing it.”
Instead, she got married, had a family and went to school for hair. It wasn’t until she was 40 years old that she found a journal entry from her 16-year-old self that opened her eyes to the dreams she had missed out on. The entry listed her three dream jobs: a dolphin trainer, a fashion designer and an artist.
“And I remember writing, ‘But I’ll probably do something realistic, like be a teacher,” she said. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being a teacher, but for me to go from that to a very sensible job. It was painful to read.”
The journal entry had her parents written all over it — being realistic, adjusting expectations so there wasn’t disappointment and keeping her dreams low – the same risk-free life her parents lived themselves.
While she loved being a wife and mother, she felt like there had to be more to who she was. As soon as her kids were in school, she signed up for art classes at Utah Tech, and that changed everything.
“I was finally around people that were like me,” Taylor said. “I just learned a ton around just highly creative individuals. And they push you a lot, too. I felt like I had found my tribe.”
After graduation, her first goal was to have one of her paintings in a local art gallery. When she applied for the Arrowhead Gallery, she was juried in and to her surprise – accepted.
“It was like the best day of my life,” she said. “Because I still felt so small and unsure and just to have outside validation was so great. Every time a piece sells, it just heals that little girl in me that was told she couldn’t be an artist.”
She put her hair career to the side and pursued art full-time almost three years ago, and she hasn’t looked back since.
Taylor’s first big break was at the St. George Art Museum and featured a 15-piece human emotion series on canvas. The series included “Perfectionism,” “Devastation,” “Excitement, “Joy” and “Confusion,” along with a nine-foot triptych of “Rage.”
“I took a bunch of canvas out to the dessert on a day I was feeling particularly angry, probably the angriest I’ve ever been,” she said about the “Rage” piece. “I just threw jars of red and black paint at the canvas until it started to rip apart. All the glass and explosions are all genuine. As soon as it looked how I wanted, I just let it lay in the sun. There’s sagebrush and dirt in it and my own blood because I cut myself on the glass.”
Taylor said that the process was therapeutic as all the anger she had inside transferred onto the canvas. Once it was done, the anger stayed on the canvas and she wasn’t angry anymore.
Other therapeutic pieces include a painting done after the devastating loss of three miscarriages. One of the paintings represents the pain and suffering with imagery of a baby’s heartbeat along with a real hospital wristband and pieces of a broken teacup.
“I tend to like really bold things,” she said. “All the artists that I like such as Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Picasso, Van Gough – just bold colors and bold form.”
On top of her paintings, she also offers various prints, which were inspired by woodburning she saw on a backpacking trip through Yosemite. She began drawing animals with national parks and landmarks attached, such as a bighorn sheep with the famous Angels Landing climb going up his neck. She’s currently working on a few more national park drawings to finish out the series and plans to make a coloring book of the drawings once it’s finished.
“I’ve just been trying things as an artist, what strategy works, so while I’m in this experimental phase it’s sort of spread out,” she said.
Her most recent accomplishment includes a St. George coloring book with images such as Utah Raptors playing golf. The coloring book is available for purchase inside the St. George Childrens Museum, and a portion of the proceeds go directly back to the museum.
“It’s just a cool way I can give back to the city that I love,” Taylor said.
For more information on Audrey Taylor including upcoming events and available art, visit her website or follow @audreytaylorstudio on Instagram.
Photo Gallery
"Angels Landing" by Audrey Taylor features a bighorn sheep with the climb to the peak of Angels Landing, Ivins, Utah, June 6, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
A drawing of a spider includes utah landmarks such as the Salt Flats, St. George, Utah, June 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
"The Desert Traveler" by Audrey Taylor features multiple Utah national parks on a desert tortoise's back, Ivins, Utah, June 6, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Audrey Taylor's newest coloring book is pictured, Ivins, Utah, June 6, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
A condor drawing by Audrey Taylor is pictured, Ivins, Utah, June 6, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Audrey Taylor's human emotions series is pictured, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Audrey Taylor, St. George News
Audrey Taylor's stands next to her paintings, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Audrey Taylor, St. George News
An emotional piece by Audrey Taylor is centered around three miscarriages, St. George, Utah, June 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Children experience Audrey Taylor's art inside the St. George Art Museum in St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Audrey Taylor, St. George News
Audrey Taylor stands next to her art piece "Excitement" inside the Red Cliff Gallery in St. George, Utah, June 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Audrey Taylors painting "Excitement" is part of a 15-piece human emotions series, St. George, Utah, June 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
A piece by Audrey Taylor is inspired by a faith crisis, St. George, Utah, June 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Artwork by Audrey Taylor lines the walls of her home art studio in St. George, Utah, June 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Artwork by Audrey Taylor lines the walls of her home in St. George, Utah, June 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Artwork by Audrey Taylor lines the walls of her home in St. George, Utah, June 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Artwork by Audrey Taylor lines the walls of her home in St. George, Utah, June 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Audrey Taylor's sits next to one of her paintings, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Audrey Taylor, St. George News
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.
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'Rage' paintings to national park-infused animal drawings, one Southern Utah artist is baring it all - St George News
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