Michael Taylor is primarily known as a film producer and has made films both within the studio system as well as the independent film arena. Unbeknownst to most of his colleagues in the entertainment industry Taylor has been painting abstract expressionist oil paintings for decades.  

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He originally painted landscapes which were inspired by the locations where he was filming, and as the work evolved into more impressionist versions of the landscape his paintings morphed into pure abstraction.  He is often quoted as saying that perhaps because he has spent his career around cameras which beautifully capture reality, he would prefer that his painting not attempt to duplicate what a camera produces and instead interpret reality in a more conceptual and abstract way.   Inspired by landscapes, what he sees travels from his brush to the canvas resulting in the color, mood, texture, and scale of a landscape.

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In addition to his success in Hollywood’s many areas of entertainment, he has been a Professor at The University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts where he served as Chair of Film and Television Production for ten years.  He is also the Founder and Executive Director of the USC Media Institute for Social Change.

 

Michael’s paintings can be found in Collections in New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, and Baltimore.  His most current work will be on view at The William Ris Gallery in New York in the Fall of 2025.