It might be hard to tell from these bold illustrations populated by American icons like cowboys, indians and Mexican wrestlers, but illustrator Matt Taylor is from good old Brighton, England. His bright works celebrate sunny days well spent, drawing inspiration from rocking wild-music, wild-life and the Old West. His style harkens back to days of mass produced silk screen posters with well chosen but limited color palettes… but if that description makes you think his posters are only retro, you’d sadly be missing a lot of their charm. Many of his works stir up time periods like a vintage cocktail shaker throwing together a modern club drink. I mean… he’s got cowboys floating in space!
If you’re a fan of vintage comics, you might have noticed some distinctly comic worthy themes running through Taylor’s work. Even in stand alone images, he often works in the feeling of impending battle or competition that harkens back to childhood fantasies. The roots of his comic inspiration can be traced to the legendary artist Jack Kirby, creator of the character Captain America (there’s that America thing again!) and illustrator for DC and Atlas Comics (which would later become Marvel).
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Taylor’s work has been featured by a large number of high profile publications and companies. Clients have included Penguin Books (which he created awesome covers for), The Guardian, GQ, Adidas, Burton Snowboards, Wired Magazine, World Wrestling Entertainment and even The Church of London. He is a founding member of the four person design collective Paper Fox Press, which features the young talents of Aaron Miller, Ben Mounsey and Robin Boyden. Interested in getting connected? You can reach Taylor through Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Facebook or Society6… and of course at matttaylor.co.uk.
Below: illustrations from Taylors self-published two-tone zine, Cowboy vs. Indian… a fast paced, sky-high battle of the old west brought to life a number of decades in the future.
Taylor’s most recent piece, a tribut to Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. Made for an upcoming show at Gallery 1988.
