Sopris Sun | An Interview with Andy Taylor

We are pleased to share this interview with Andy Taylor from The Sopris Sun, where he talks about his art process and his new collection, currently on display at Ann Korologos Gallery as a part of his solo exhibit, “The Art of Color”. Please read a preview of the article below.

Intimate Locality: The Art of Color with Andy Taylor

Will Buzzerd | The Sopris Sun

On Thursday, July 21, the Ann Korologos Gallery on Basalt’s Midland Avenue presented a new collection of work by Carbondale artist Andy Taylor.  It was the opening night and artist reception for Taylor’s  solo exhibition titled “The Art of Color”, featuring landscapes painted in either oil or pastel.

Taylor, who has his studio in downtown Carbondale, has been painting scenes in the Valley for five decades, rarely going further than an hour out of town for the subjects of his landscapes. However, his scenery is not always what one would immediately consider when they think of the Valley. Instead of postcard views of Mount Sopris or the Crystal Mill, Taylor chooses “insignificant scenes” — intimate locales and subjects which one might ordinarily pass by on a drive, hike or river trip.

“The Art of Color” Exhibit

“The Art of Color” collection specifically gathered Taylor’s most recent body of work. Many of the included pieces are broad, expressive landscapes of oils on linen, along with smaller pieces of pastel on paper. The collection is marked by warm, expressive colors — fields of crimsons, golds and violets for groves of trees and brush. Many pieces forgo acute detail and texture for vast clouds which, with Taylor’s unique color choice, evoke not just the image but the memory of the locales he renders. Taylor was kind enough to be interviewed about his process and this new collection.

Where do you normally encounter the subjects you paint, and what is it about a scene that will tell you to document it?

I walk or drive around, I draw, I draw some more, maybe think about what I have drawn, try to decide what I think might be a good painting, what size that painting might be — and go to work. I have a large reservoir of drawings, and at this stage in my life, I have a large reservoir of memories that I can draw from for inspiration. Usually, I have an idea of where I want to go, but frequently I draw to and from whatever destination I have in mind. I will stop for anything that catches my eye — weeds on the roadside, exciting clouds, fences, color — anything. 

Do the colors you choose come directly from what you see, or is there more interpretation that goes into choosing them?

I do push the saturation of the colors I see. If I see a muddy, gray violet, I might try to get rid of the muddy and gray. I see violet, why not paint it violet. Whether I work from drawings or memory, I find it important to remember why I stopped to draw or why that memory is important. Often, it was the color or combinations of colors.

Where do the pastels fall in your creative process? Do they exist as part of developing other pieces, and/or do they occupy a different niche in the body of your work?

The pastels exist on two levels: some are done with no intention of ever being paintings; others are done with the purpose of making a painting. The one thing that they have in common, like most drawings, is exploration, experimentation, discovery and invention.

“>Read the full interview at The Sopris Sun >