Jan Taylor

Pet portraits. Horse Portraits. Cowboy and Horse Portraits. Animal Spirit Guide Portraits. Jan Taylor was born knowing she was meant to paint animals. Her family knew it too, and since their youngest daughter spent every moment of her childhood either drawing animals or riding horses, the Taylor's were not surprised when Jan grew up to enjoy a successful career painting animals, a passion enhanced by Jan's Fine Arts degree from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

As a professional artist for the last twenty-six years, and the featured artist for the Touched by a Horse inspirational cards, Jan has permanently established her reputation as a leading American artist. Famous for her unique approach to the use of color and subject, Jan chooses to use vibrant acrylic pigments like a watercolorist, imbuing her paintings with translucent yet striking hues of glorious color. Look into the eyes of the animals Jan paints in her equine art and pet portraits and you will experience the very essence of the timeless connection between human and animal-kind. She is especially well-known for capturing the spirit, magic, and commanding presence of the horse – depicting the beautiful physique and mystical soul of the horse in bold, colorful, and powerful imagery.

Today, Jan's Pet Portraits, Equine Art, Native American Art, Cowboy Art, and dreamlike Animal Spirit Guide paintings grace private and public collections throughout the world. Jan's horse and cowboy images are inspired by her years spent working, riding, and painting on a variety of ranches and horse facilities, including time spent with Navajo friends working as a ranch-hand on the Navajo Nation. Her colorful and spirited images of horses, bold and dynamic renditions of cowboys in both the mythical and working West, mystical Native American horse and animal art, and portraits of visionary shamans and their animals have been selected by Leanin' Tree, a national greeting card company, for use in their "Hearts of the West" line, and for the inspirational Touched by a Horse cards. Jan also works with various organizations to assist the animal friends she cares for so much, serving as a tireless advocate and artistic contributor on behalf of animal-welfare issues.

Jan and her many dog, cat, horse, mule, tortoise, bird, and fish friends spent many years in the Arizona Sonoran desert, where she fulfilled her family's prophecy and established herself as one of the leading pet portrait artists in the country. More recently, Jan purchased a ranch in her native state of Colorado, where she raises and breeds Welsh Cob horses. There in the scenic Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, people from around the world commission Jan to paint their pets, horses, and dreams of animals special in their lives.

Jan paints individual pet portraits, horse portraits, portraits of entire animal families, and a variety of other commissioned work, including paintings created to accommodate specific house design and decorating parameters. Jan consults directly with her clients either in person or via phone and photograph to insure that she captures the physical likeness, spirit, and essence of the animals and people she paints. To arrange for a consultation, please contact Jan at jantaylorart@aol.com