Art & Life with Taylor Jackson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Jackson.

Taylor, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Well, I have been drawing as long as I can remember. My mom always put me and my sisters in after school activities like ceramics and painting and I remember enjoying it very much. I didn’t realize that I would want to do this as a career because at first, I wanted to work in law enforcement. Fortunately, my mind changed. There was always this lingering interest in all of the arts for me throughout my childhood, and I officially became interested in trying digital art in high school. The first tools available to me were sketchbooks, and Microsoft paint.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
ILLUSTRATION/PAINTING: I like to draw portraits of people in any medium. The only medium I haven’t tried yet is oil paint, however digital is the “easiest” and most convenient of all the mediums! The human body is fascinating, we have so many curves and expressive features. The fact that humans can recreate what we see on paper is inspiring and divine.

PHOTOGRAPHY: A lot of what I like to draw seeps into my photography, because guess what? I like taking portraits of people! I like to see what people can tell me with their body language and I like making them feel confident, all the while being imaginative.

GRAPHIC DESIGN: although it isn’t my main focus, in a way illustration and photography are elements of graphic design. There is so much you can do within all aspects of “the arts”. Within all three subjects I just mentioned, the things that my eye are most aesthetically attracted to are bold colors, geometric shapes/patterns and rainbows. I just hope that my art can make people feel as good as it helps me to feel. Also, I can acknowledge that I will never stop learning and improving. Whenever I feel passionate about something it will always show through my work.

Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
Maaan, that question! I have too much to say. I think the lives of artists have become harder. Especially impoverished artists of color. Even though there is a push for more diversity I feel like more can be done. In my opinion, I feel like as a city Houston does a great job listing open calls and opportunities for artists, however they can do a better job at providing educational opportunities, as well as exhibition opportunities for artists who would like to have a career but can’t afford to pay entry fees, or find an agency to represent them.

There is a stigma surrounding people who want to have a career in the arts. It’s very annoying to always hear that it’s impossible to make a decent living off of selling art. There are billions of people on this planet. A market may be competitive but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for an individual trying to sell and create art. I’ve seen many people have successful careers as photographers, graphic designers, etc. These fields are always dominated by men and we need to change that by spreading awareness of more female artists of color.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My work is available on multiple platforms!

Portfolio: https://jacksongalart.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jacksongalart

Instagram: @jacksongalart and @sparrowssnaps

Ways you can support my work:

Commissio: https://commiss.io/jacksongalart

Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/jacksongalart#

Patreon: https://commiss.io/jacksongalart

Online store: https://jacksongalart.bigcartel.com/

Currently not in any exhibitions, but past exhibitions can be seen in my portfolio site!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jacksongalart.com/
• Email: jacksontaylorartist@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacksongalart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacksongalart/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jacksongalart

Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.