We sat down with contemporary artist Charlie Haydn Taylor to discover what inspires his collage artworks, a bit more about his newest artworks, and what his plans for 2023 are.
CHARLIE: It’s hard to narrow down to just a few sources of inspiration as there is so much that contributes to the way I create my work. Visually, I have sourced a lot of inspiration from different forms of interior architecture, particularly in Modernism through architects like Le Corbusier. Also, I have a real interest in consumerism and its prevalence in modern culture. I feel as though someone’s buying behaviour says a lot about their personality.
'Out by Eight, Home by Six, Recurring' by Charlie Haydn Taylor - £370
In terms of artistic inspiration, Edward Hopper has had a large influence on my work, particularly in the last few years. The way in which he conveys isolation as a feeling is something I’ve been attempting to recreate within my own work for a while through a more contemporary lens. How technology, in a more modern world, adds further to this feeling. Of course I would be lying if I didn’t say how much of an influence the 1960’s Pop Artists have had on my work from Tom Wesslemann to Richard Hamilton as well as Patrick Caulfield and David Hockney.
CHARLIE: It really depends. Some works tend to be more complex in perspective and with the amount of various items I’ve collaged in. I would say generally from idea to final piece is usually around 2 weeks.
'Tangled up in Black' by Charlie Haydn Taylor - £320
CHARLIE: I think for most part I would love people to walk away feeling as though I’ve touched on something relevant to their own lives. Something they can relate to. I no longer like to incorporate figures into my work as I feel the viewer can now mentally place themselves into the pieces, which has a greater lasting impact from the moment they walk away.
CHARLIE: My process always begins with an idea about the feeling I want to convey. Then it comes down to the multitude of various interiors I’ve collected over the last few years to combine elements I think would go well together to create one new interior. Photoshop is a very important tool for the way I work as it is where I college all elements together which will later be printed onto canvas before I paint in to create the space of the room.
CHARLIE: The best thing is that I get to spend my days being constantly creative and thinking about new ways of viewing the world through art. Never a dull day! On the other hand, I’m sure most artists will agree that we struggle with structuring our own time.
CHARLIE: I recently created a work inspired by a story of a friend who’s child took their crayons to their parents' newly decorated bedroom. I loved the idea of how children can see anything as a canvas and don’t have that same anxiety over what, where and when to create. Also, I liked the idea of going back into my very clean, graphic pieces and scribbling all over it as part of the piece as though Cy Twombly had gone at one of my works.
'Through the Lonely Nights' by Charlie Haydn Taylor - £350
CHARLIE:I wouldn’t say I have any particular rituals although I always have to have music playing when I paint. This alternates depending on the work and my mood but is usually either classical or rock. Chopin or Bowie mostly!
CHARLIE: My work has definitely developed as I’ve moved into a more mixed media space, combining paint, collage and occasionally fabrics to create new pieces, whereas originally I focused largely on purely digital collage. My sense of colour has definitely improved, which was always something I wanted to work on. I can thank Josef Albers for that. My first work feels more commercial whereas the art I create now feels more suited to the ‘fine art’ space on the walls of galleries.
CHARLIE: These are works that have been created at different times throughout the year with the originals of a couple having featured in solo and group shows in London galleries. I’m excited to present them here for people who tend to collect prints more often.
'Still Life at Dusk' by Charlie Haydn Taylor - £300
CHARLIE: I have a lot in the pipeline at the moment, from the release of a music video which my art has featured in, to exhibitions internationally from Los Angeles to Beijing. Something I want to achieve in 2023 is to break further into the Asian market. I have ties to Singapore currently for my prints but want to further my exhibition history with shows in other Asian cities, which I’m beginning to do starting with a show in China next June.
To explore the stunning collection of artworks created by Charlie, click here and visit his collection.
