Taylor Cox’s paintings look the way that summer feels: Clear turquoise water, 
sunbathing bodies, and bright blue-and-white umbrellas sprawled across sandy shores. Cox says she’s inspired by experimentation and daydreaming, and her paintings elicit those same fantasies to me as a viewer.
Are the beachgoers that so often feature in her work enjoying the sun in Florida? Perhaps Ibiza? I like to imagine they’re somewhere far away from here, maybe on the coast of France or Italy. In fact, one of my favorite pieces by Cox features a scene from Rio in the ’60s — vacationers covering their heads with towels as rain pours down around them, ear to ear smiles ornamenting their faces.
Cox received her B.F.A. in drawing and painting in from Kennesaw State University in 2013. Her work has been exhibited across the country, abroad, and locally at Swan Coach House Gallery, Kibbee Gallery, and The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. She describes her process as intuitive and spontaneous and her color palette as blazingly bright and optimistic. Her goal? To create visual cues to places in her memories.
Here, Cox talks to CommonCreativ about how toeing the line between abstraction and realism shaped her personal style, and her goal of painting for herself, even if it’s well received or not.
CommonCreativ: What sparked your interest in becoming an artist?
Taylor Cox: I have always spent my time creating as long as I can remember. I would do it whether I made money or not. My initial interest was in creating an idea and executing it. I’ve always enjoyed the challenge.
CC: How did you develop your personal style?
TC: In high school, I was obsessed with painting reflections of windows. One of my biggest inspirations was Richard Estes. That’s where it all began, really. I was drawn to window reflections because I could paint something realistic but at the same time I could crop a window reflection down and it would become abstract. I continued this series into college, and then I had an advanced painting teacher that wanted me to go completely abstract for the whole semester. I absolutely hated it because I loved painting detailed works.
In art school, I spent most of the time experimenting between abstraction and realism, trying to figure out how to combine both elements. I graduated and began working full-time at a wholesale art company. At the time, they didn’t have many abstract artists and asked if I wanted to do some works for them. I did very loose vibrant abstracts and they sold very well. I also actually enjoyed working on them.
I eventually started painting again for myself and posting on Instagram. I had become successful selling these abstracts so I wanted to start working for myself. I quit my full-time job and began selling on my own. Eventually, I wanted to get back into realism. One day I was looking at one of my abstract pieces. I started looking through images that I had saved and I came across a beach scene. I combined the loose brush marks with tiny beachgoers and haven’t stopped.
I do believe I’m still developing my personal style — it will never stop. I feel that I’ve found a nice balance of abstraction and realism that I’ve been searching for since I started painting.
Taylor Cox
CC: Tell us about your process.
TC: To be honest, I spend most of my time experimenting and daydreaming. Once I have a background or abstract, I decide what goes on top of it. If a certain mark looks like it could be water, I paint people swimming in it. Sometimes I just think of an idea and paint it. For example, I had an idea of paint drips as the ocean covering a clean minimal background, so I covered a panel in paint drips, and once it dried I painted an ocean scene on top.
CC: What message do you hope your work conveys to viewers?
TC: I hope when people view my work that it takes them away for a bit. I imagine my beach scenes and paintings as another world. It’s a happier world for sure.
Day 24
CC: What piece are you most proud of creating?
TC: “Day 24.” It was my first beach scene and honestly the first time I painted something fun. I wasn’t thinking about whether people would like it or if it would sell. Ever since creating that piece, it’s my goal to paint for myself and not get caught up in whether it will be received well or not.
CC: Even when the piece isn’t a beachy, sunny landscape, the colors and brush strokes are often layered in a process that looks very relaxed. Your work as a whole feels very positive. How does that translate to your mindset when creating a piece?
TC: When I’m working on an abstract, it’s always my intention to create something easy and fluid. I think that’s just my preference. When it comes to painting the realistic part (the people), I tend to be very careful and more precise. I love really tight, detailed and precise work just as much as minimal, loose work. When I combine the two, it’s a perfect world for me. I also think it’s similar to handwriting — it’s a natural tendency.
CC: Is it hard to create a piece when you’re not in a positive mood?
TC: I don’t think my mood affects my painting that much. At my full-time job, we had an artist that would bring paintings in and you could tell what was going on in her life by the color. If it wasn’t going well she would bring in these very dark and moody paintings. The next week she would bring in very bright, happy work. If anything, art clears my mind and makes me happier.
CC: What are your thoughts on Atlanta’s artist community? Why did you decide to continue your work here after completing your degree?
TC: I think Atlanta has grown so much, especially since I graduated in 2013. The film industry has grown so much. I have a studio in Marietta at The Artisan Resource Center and I absolutely love it. There are around 25 working artists in the building in all disciplines. Atlanta has great art galleries as well.
CC: What projects are you looking forward to next?
TC: I am currently working on a series inspired by the Amalfi Coast and a sculptural series that I’m very excited about.
See more of Taylor’s work on her portfolio site and Instagram.
