Written by Xavier Serrano
Look into the mind of an artist as you enter Josh Taylor, a local phenomenon that’s been leaving his mark from New York to Baltimore in a Q and A interview, on October 10, 2023.
Josh Taylor is an established artist who has received critical acclaim for his artistic ability and talent. The Ridgewood, New Jersey native would start his career in high school, creating a comic book called, “ The Sixth Samurai” for a comic book company called Oracle Workshop. He would also attend and graduate from the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
Taylor’s career would skyrocket in 2005 as he showcased some art in his first art show at the Toyroom Gallery, located in Sacramento, California. Fast forwarding to 2011, Josh would start illustrating for the comic book “ Black Powder Red Earth ” created by Jon Chang ( a member of groundbreaking grindcore bands Discordance Axis and Gridlink.) The series was published by Echelon Software.
As of 2023, Josh Taylor has established himself as a crafty, rugged, and infamous member of the East Coast art scene. Josh’s art could be described as a mixture of realism as well as horror. Josh does a wonderful job of creating balance in the portrait as well as color theory to emphasize the center of the image against the background. Being a man of many hats has allowed him to come across many walks of life as well as indulge in other hobbies besides art. Pro wrestling, comic books, music, and movies are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to knowing who Josh Taylor is. Take a dive with us as we learn more about the man behind the pencil.
Q: What got you into art?
A: “I sucked at sports, and was really good at drawing, according to the cool kid in 2nd grade. Then my dad brought home Wolverine #22 and I knew I wanted to draw comics.”
Q: Do you think that being an artist has helped you grow as an individual?
A: “Not in the slightest.”
Q: What artist has inspired you?
A: “Schiele, Klimt, Mcfarlane, Jim Lee, Stan Sakai, Mike Mlgnola, Dave McKean, David Lynch, Takashi Miike, Jim Mahfood, Katsuhiro Otomo, Satoshi Kon, Masamune Shirow, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Gary Gyrax, Downtimer, Bob Odenkirk, Les Claypool, Jim Henson, The Midjourney Al, The Ultimate Warrior, and John Cena.”
Q: Has someone ever ridiculed your art? If so, how did it make you feel?
A: “Sure. I felt they were some asshole kid on myspace that I refused to do a trade with and they could go suck a f**k”
Q: For any beginning artist, what advice would you give them?
A: “Make shit. Make as much shit as possible. Make shit for ten million hours. You’ll still suck, but people might give you money for sucking less than everyone else. Also, have a backup plan”
Q: Are you satisfied with how your career has turned out? And if there is anything that you would change, what would it be?
A: “Yeah, it’s fine. I draw people brutally killing each other with guns and bombs for money. Would I rather be drawing elves brutally killing each other with swords and arrows for glory and honor? Sure I would, but Jon Chang doesn’t like elves so…”
Q: Have you ever collaborated with another artist and noticed some artistic differences, how did you work through it and were you happy with the end result?
A: “Yes. Artistic differences are the whole f**king point of collaborations. DUH!”
Without Josh, the world would crumble, natural disasters would unfold, the skies would rain blood and there would be no one to heckle the wrestlers at live events. The brilliance that comes from that guy’s brain cannot be documented, only witnessed and felt. As his departing piece, Josh stated that “ I will die in 2037 at age 57, due to losing an antique pirate gun duel at the Super Bowl halftime show.”
