Dale Taylor’s unique blend of photography and acrylic art
Dale Taylor has turned his lifelong passion for art into a strikingly unique craft. Through a fusion of photography and acrylic painting, he transforms ordinary images into captivating works of art. From the sweeping curves of the Blue Bridge to the raw intensity of racehorses thundering toward the finish line, Taylor has an eye for capturing the soul of a moment — and enhancing it with his own creative touch.
“I have always created art,” said Taylor, an Owensboro native and current Vice President of Facilities and Purchasing for RiverValley Behavioral Health. “I can remember sitting in class when I was in elementary school, doodling and sketching. I got in trouble a lot for not paying attention, but it never occurred to me that I was doing anything wrong; sketching helped me to focus.”
With encouragement from his mother, Taylor took art classes during high school. He then obtained a bachelor of fine arts degree from Murray State University, which he said was home to the best art program in Kentucky at the time.
Taylor said rather than art being something fall back on, he wanted it to be something that propelled him forward. His determination led to a signature style — blending high-resolution photography with the dynamic texture of acrylic paint.
“I enjoy the process,” Taylor said. “I can photograph an event, add my own unique touches with acrylics, and have a completed product in a day.”
Using a Sony Alpha 6000 digital camera, or even just his phone, Taylor captures images of anything that catches his eye — sunsets, landscapes, rowboats, the Blue Bridge. He then prints them on stretched canvas and enhances them with paint
“From there, I can change the color, or maybe add highlights that weren’t there before,” Taylor said. “For example, I did a portrait of a friend once and put a sparkle in his eye in the shape of a heart; it was very original. I like this process because I can change it to look any way I want it to look.”
While his passion for art has been lifelong, Taylor’s career path has been just as colorful. After 25 years at WaxWorks, he retired and ventured into small business with his brother in Tennessee. Eventually, he returned home to Owensboro, taking on what was meant to be a 90-day consulting role at RiverValley Behavioral Health — but he never left.
The position has afforded Taylor a unique opportunity to fuse his love for art with community involvement. RiverValley’s annual youth mental health art contest, “Be Kind to your Mind,” invites students in grades kindergarten through college to create visual art pieces that share messages of hope and raise mental health awareness.
“As a judge in the contest, I’ve seen 500 entries from across seven counties in the state,” Taylor said. “The range of ability is amazing. Some of these kids who are as young as 7 years old are producing high-quality, original artwork. We go through three cycles of judging, and it can be a challenge to choose a winner because we receive so many quality entries.”
Taylor’s own work has also earned recognition. At his wife’s urging, he submitted pieces to the annual Owensboro Art Guild Juried Exhibition. Almost immediately, his distinct style stood out.
“No one else is producing exactly this type of art,” Taylor noted. “I can take an image and paint it once, paint it twice; every version I create is an original.”
Being new to the exhibition, he didn’t know what to expect.
“It was raining, so I set up my canopy and people started coming around and I sold two or three pieces right away,” Taylor said. “Before I knew it, someone came up and told me I’d won the show. I was presented with an envelope with a couple hundred dollars in it. I ended up selling 10 pieces of art that day.”
His work is now available online at daletaylorartstudio.com, and some of his pieces are on display in favorite spots around Owensboro such as The Creme Coffee House, Cupola Club, and The Pub on Second.
For Taylor, art is more than just a creative outlet — it’s a way to enrich the community.
“People want to put art in a box,” Taylor said. “You go to stores and you see mass-produced art that is made by a machine. But when artists are allowed to create their own original pieces and sell them or display them in a community, it provides an outlet for creativity and a chance to reflect the character of our city.”
And for Owensboro, Taylor’s work does just that — capturing the beauty of everyday moments and elevating them into something extraordinary. OL
