Congratulations to Taylor Mouroufas for earning her place as a Finalist in the Boynes Emerging Artist Award 7th Edition!

Who are you?

My name is Taylor Mouroufas and I’m a self-taught oil painter born and raised in California. My artistic beginning started as soon as I can remember. My mom says that  as soon as I could hold a Crayola marker I was drawing and making art, and I haven’t  stopped since. It’s always felt like it was something I was meant for; the truest longing  I’ve ever experienced in my life was to make art. I always knew that no matter what  happens in my life, being an artist was who I am and what I would always be. Growing  up and on into where I am today, I have never pursued any formal training in art.

What inspired you to utilize painting as a medium?

As a creative person in general, I’ve tried many other mediums including ceramics and  photography among others like colored pencil and charcoal. Painting always felt more  comfortable to me. While I still do enjoy using colored pencil, painting in all forms is  what I’m most drawn to. With my style of realism, I find that painting (specifically in oils)  allows me to achieve the exact amount of detail I’m going for in each piece. The  boldness of the colors allows me to create light and shadows within those details that  create the illusion of realism. I feel the most satisfaction from painting and while I’m  certainly open to all other mediums, this is my ride or die medium! 

How would you describe your work?

I believe my artwork invokes a sense of wonder and emotion in all who view it. My work is not  bound to a certain niche subject. My years of intense self taught study and practice has  allowed me to create art that captivates the eye. No matter what I create, I strive bring a level  of realism that invigorates the senses which further entices emotion to come forth. My  approach is rooted in my desire to capture beauty in the world, and there's beauty to behold in  all things. Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I paint a wide variety of subjects. I realized  early on in my career that of course I have favorite subjects, but I couldn't limit myself to just  one. Like most painters, I could stick with just seascapes or portraits only, but where's the  growth or fun in that! I want to appreciate and learn the intricacies and complexities of  everything in this world. So I paint crashing ocean waves and water scenes, sprawling  landscapes, dramatic cloudscapes, people, animals, architecture, botanicals, and still lifes. I do  not back down from a challenge and I do not shy away from all details hidden within the  subject. I push myself and my abilities every time I step in front of my canvas. 

Can you discuss the inspiration and thought process behind "spirits"?

The inspiration behind this piece was simply me wanting to create a dark still life scene  with the contrast of unique light to break through the darkness. The way light reflects  and shines through glass and liquid is a fascinating phenomenon. It would be a welcome challenge to capture it through paint. Since never one to back down from a  challenge and I always strive to paint intimidating subjects so I decided to take this  painting head on and try to achieve as much detail as I could. 

Can you walk us through the technical steps of creating "spirits"?

I found an excellent reference photo and used it to create the painting and immediately  went to work on it. I had started by painting the entire wood panel black and then went  into shaping the bottles with just their light reflections alone. I used the negative space where the background comes through the glass and the many different colors of light to  create the bottle out of nothing.

The experience painting this showed me the vast  amount of colors the light reflected onto the glass bottles. I found myself rarely using stark white. The highlights were mostly blues, browns and grays, while I would make those highlights pop in some areas with pure white. Overall, when breaking the painting  down into obscurely small details, it’s almost like painting an abstract piece. I’d make  the random seemingly nonsensical shapes and then step back to see that it somehow  materialized into a perceivable object. That was the most interesting aspect of this  piece. How the abstract technicalities all put together can create a realistic effect. 

Have you experimented with other mediums?

I have! I have dabbled in watercolor, gouache, acrylic, colored pencil, and charcoal for a  good amount of my artistic journey. It took me longer than I’d like to admit to finally  coming around to using oils. I was adamant about using acrylics, colored pencil, and  watercolor for many years and while I found enjoyment in it, deep down I knew I could  do better and delve even deeper into the level of detail I was wanting to achieve. I found that through oils and I’ve never looked back! I will of course work in a specific medium if  a client wants it but my default will always be oils. 

Can you talk about your biggest learning experience during the process of creating your work?

I’ve experienced a wealth of valuable occurrences just this year alone that have all  served as lessons. I wouldn’t call them failures per se since they’ve all served as  stepping stones to get me to where I need to be and obtain knowledge that I need to  have. I’ve learned that having a contract for commissions is very important and no  matter how excited you are to start the piece, never start it before the contract is signed!  I had to learn that the hard way. I’ve learned that I should never undersell my work.  Many times I’ve found myself putting in way too much time and effort into a piece and  that didn’t translate into the compensation I was receiving. I’ve had to learn that my time  is valuable, my skill is valuable, and my work is valuable and I need to act accordingly.

Can you discuss your biggest success since starting your artistic journey?

I only started taking my art seriously and striving to make a full-time career out of it in  January 2022. I would break down my biggest success into 2 separate occurrences  because both were based off of my goals that I made for myself in the short and long  term plan for my career. I was accepted into my first gallery only a month into this  endeavor. Being accepted into a gallery is something that young Taylor would be so  proud of. My second biggest achievement would be being honored as a finalist in this outstanding competition. I cannot express how joyful I was to learn I was named a  finalist among 30 other amazing international artists for this award. It truly made me feel so humbled, accomplished, seen, and confident in my abilities as an artist. It has given  me so much motivation to work even harder towards pursuing a full time career as a  painter.

Can you tell something you wish you had known before or when you began your career that would have really helped?

Comparison is a thief of joy. I would find myself comparing my artistic journey to other  more successful artists and I would deep dive and try to dissect what they did exactly to  achieve their success so I could recreate it exactly hoping for the same results. It took  me a while to realize that every artist’s journey to their definition of success is different.  Artistic success is not cookie cutter and it’s impossible to follow someone’s footsteps to  a T and expect the same outcome. My journey is my own and I will get to my version of  success by taking my own steps, not recreating someone else’s. You can be inspired by  other artists of course. You can incorporate some of their important aspects of success  into your own path but acknowledging that they are a whole different person and what  works for them may not work for you is vital to understand.

What projects are you working on currently?

I do have a few fun projects I’m working on at the moment that I’d be happy to share!  There is a secret project I’m working on that I cannot share yet but I cannot wait to  announce when the time comes. Though I can’t divulge any specifics, I am currently  finishing up an album cover commission. This is something I’ve never done before and  the subject matter intensely forced me out of my comfort zone, which was incredibly  exciting! The finishing touches are being made and I couldn’t be more proud of the  outcome. As far as works-in-progress that I can share, I am working on 2 different large  scale landscape pieces. One is a commission of the beautiful acropolis in Greece and  the other is a landscape in Iceland. Both are 24” x 36”. 

What is your dream project or piece you hope to accomplish?

My dream project is currently sitting in the spare room of my house coincidentally!  Painting on a very large scale has always been a dream of mine and I have a blank 36”  x 84” canvas patiently waiting for me. However due to how massive it is I haven’t quite  found the right subject for it. One day when the time is right and I have found the perfect subject, I will make that painting my magnum opus. I look forward to that day, but until  then I have more learning and growing to do.

As a finalist, do you have any advice for artists who want to submit to awards, competitions, residencies, etc.?

My advice would be to not underestimate yourself. It’s okay to have doubts, that’s part  of being human. But don’t let doubts consume you. Submit your work anyway. So many  times I’ve submitted my work to awards and competitions and have been pleasantly  surprised by the outcome. You will never know what will happen unless you try. I’ve  used that mantra across all aspects of my art career but definitely when it comes to  submitting my work. The worst that could happen is nothing comes from it and you  move on. When you move on, you keep working on yourself and your craft, and then try  again! What’s meant for you is already yours and nothing will stop it from reaching you.

Lastly, I like to ask everyone what advice they would give to their fellow artists/photographers, what is your advice?

Never stop learning. Don’t ever think you know everything there is to know about your craft. Creating art means having a constant pursuit of knowledge, growth, and increasing maturity no matter what phase you’re in or level of achievement. Make art for YOU. Every artist out there will agree that there will be many people telling you what you should create. While comments like that usually come from a place of good intention, what matters most is that the art you’re making fulfills you. I’ve experienced  the vast contrast of creating something you aren’t passionate about and dreading  working on it versus being so excited about a project you’re creating and feeling the indescribable bliss and joy you will have when making it. Choose that joy every time.

To view more of Taylor Mouroufas’ work

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