Tim Taylor(XXXI)

Born on December 17, 1961 in Doylestown Pennsylvania, Tim Taylor is the second of eight children. He started seriously drawing around the 6th grade, although his mother Clare Taylor says he drew all his life. His boyhood hero was Norman Rockwell. Tim wanted to be an illustrator like Rockwell. At the age of 15, Tim started painting on storefront windows for holidays, especially Christmas. He still does this work today. In the 1980's he painted 150 stores for Christmas in a single season all by himself. He attended The School of Visual Arts in New York City, graduating in 1983 with a BFA in Illustration. After graduation Tim worked at the World Famous Glass Studio "Carved Glass by Shefts" in the Bronx, NY. After leaving Shefts, Tim specialized in carved glass (sandblasting designs and art into glass for homes, restaurants, casinos). He became one of the world's foremost experts in that field. He carved glass for the premier designer using the medium, Dennis Abbe. Abbe worked with Tim exclusively for many years. After Abbe's untimely death, Tim finished a major mural project Dennis had been working on. In 1995 Tim read an article about The Federal Duck Stamp Contest that proclaimed you could win a million dollars for painting a duck. Thus he began a pursuit of winning that competition. Knowing nothing about waterfowl he had very little success. But in 1999 he met Adam Grimm (who would go on to win the contest that year and again in 2013). Adam became a good friend and mentor to Tim, teaching him all about waterfowl, and much about painting. Since then Tim has finished in 10th in 2007, and fourth in 2014. He's hoping for a first place finish soon! In 2013 Brian Golden Davis began making, "The Million Dollar Duck" and chose Tim and Adam as two of the subjects for his documentary film.