Hope Taylor

The concept of Stick Figure Acrylics came from the desire to create a unique piece to finish and center my living room. I could not find the piece that spoke to me in the stores. So, I made my own. That was in 2005. Years later, Stick Figure Acrylics was born after many requests for art.

I have always sketched and doodled. My earliest recollection was asking my father for a Couture catalog so I could draw all the models within. I seldom used color, primarily because pencils were easily accessible. Although my father is an artist, music took precedence in my family. It was no surprise then that I followed the musical path throughout my early years even while my heart hungered for that creative outlet.

After a failed attempt at International Business and Music as a major, I finally entered the art field. This time as an interior design major. My classes in art inspired me. Yet I still felt I couldn’t make it as an artist.

Six years ago, a coworker caught me using the pc paint accessory during a training class. I ended up selling my first piece. I tried watercolors but finally settled on acrylics. I found a need to place my ideas on canvas, wood, acrylic boards, etc. I used any and anything that would allow me to create my vision. In my desire to create, I found my passion.

I have a love for landscapes. I sometimes get lost in the way colors meld, the sunlight glances off metal, or how it plays with leaves at sunrise. I also love buildings with unique characteristics. I have had it drilled in me to avoid symmetry as a lazy man’s tool by a prior architectural design professor, so my paintings tend to be lop-sided (although I usually succeed in placing a counterweight). I didn’t start painting figures until 2018. I journeyed full circle. My ideas for pieces come from whatever made me say, “aww.” I never know what drives the feeling. All I know is I must start painting. A physical click happens when completed. That’s when I know it’s right.

I create pieces to elicit an emotional response.

The Invisible Ones series came about during my daily life in DC. As I walked to and from work, I observed the marginalized people being ignored by society. More often than not, they were ignored as we rushed to our daily jobs. They made us uncomfortable. They slept in doorways or on heated grates during the winter. They exist despite our discomfort.  The pieces show everyday people ignoring them as the invisible ones lay at their, feet; so near yet existing so far outside society.