{"id":139,"date":"2012-03-22T16:54:43","date_gmt":"2012-03-22T16:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/?page_id=139"},"modified":"2016-06-25T08:17:38","modified_gmt":"2016-06-25T07:17:38","slug":"about-the-artist","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/?page_id=139","title":{"rendered":"About The Artist"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p align=\"center\"><strong style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Norman Taylor <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>\u00a0(<\/strong>14 May 1912 \u2013 23 September 2011)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Norman was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, and after school he developed two major interests: art and music. Following graduation from art college, he became a commercial artist for the <em>Ashton Under Lyne Reporter <\/em>in 1933, while teaching at the art school and playing drums in a swing band called The\u00a0<em>Manhattans<\/em>. Norman\u2019s love and appreciation of the English Countryside also emerged in the 1930s. First he travelled by bicycle and, later, by car. After obtaining his first car, motoring became and remained one of Norman\u2019s pleasures throughout his life. In 1938, Norman met and fell in love with Ella Parrish who lived nearby. They were soon married.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Avros-1950.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"966\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/?attachment_id=966\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Avros-1950.jpg?fit=583%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"583,600\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Perfection2450&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1319386018&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Avros 1950\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Avros 1950&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Avros-1950.jpg?fit=291%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Avros-1950.jpg?fit=583%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-966\" title=\"Avros 1950\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Avros-1950.jpg?resize=291%2C300\" width=\"291\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Avros-1950.jpg?resize=291%2C300&amp;ssl=1 291w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Avros-1950.jpg?resize=250%2C257&amp;ssl=1 250w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Avros-1950.jpg?w=583&amp;ssl=1 583w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 291px) 100vw, 291px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">During World War II, he served in the Royal Artillery but, after a serious illness, he transferred to the Pay Corps, returning after the War to the <em>Reporter<\/em>. In 1948, Norman joined the staff of A.V. Roe and Co. Ltd., becoming a technical illustrator and eventually Chief Artist.<a title=\"Article\" href=\"http:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Vulcan_v4-1_1605.pdf\">(Click here to view Article<\/a>) Norman and Ella had two children, Malcolm in 1948 and Margaret in 1953. However, in 1958 Ella suffered a stroke, resulting in dependency on Norman for both physical and emotional support.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When Norman retired they moved to Charlton, near Andover. The Hampshire countryside was a delight to them both, offering many a venue for picnics, painting and views. Sadly, Ella\u2019s second stroke in 1979 was fatal. Norman was alone, but now filled his time with the energetic family of his daughter and visits from his son and family now residing in the United States. In 1980, Norman visited Malcolm in Oklahoma and was given a tour of several Western states, which was truly a trip of a lifetime for him.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/DSC00402-e1333060951810.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"252\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/?attachment_id=252\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/DSC00402-e1333060951810.jpg?fit=340%2C411&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"340,411\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;CD MAVICA&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1020620080&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;8.1&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Norman Taylor\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Norman Taylor &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/DSC00402-e1333060951810.jpg?fit=248%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/DSC00402-e1333060951810.jpg?fit=340%2C411&amp;ssl=1\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-252\" title=\"Norman Taylor \" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/DSC00402-e1333060951810-248x300.jpg?resize=248%2C300\" width=\"248\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/DSC00402-e1333060951810.jpg?resize=248%2C300&amp;ssl=1 248w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/DSC00402-e1333060951810.jpg?w=340&amp;ssl=1 340w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 248px) 100vw, 248px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">His artistic abilities remained prominent and he\u00a0was very proud to become a Member of the Chartered Society of Designers, eligible to append \u2018MCSD\u2019 to his name. He loved music and\u00a0could play many popular classics by ear on his piano. He produced a substantial number of landscapes and architectural watercolours, many of which found their way to the USA and some to Australia and New Zealand. His work reflects a sense of contentment during these years and the ease at which he put paint to paper never ceased to impress those with whom he was acquainted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0In 2000, a move to Littleton, near Winchester and close to his daughter\u2019s home, provided a source of pleasure and stability. The year 2002 saw him celebrate his 90<sup>th<\/sup> birthday in grand style, with a gathering of friends and family contributing to a memorable occasion. Nine years later he passed away peacefully in his hundredth year. He is buried at Weyhill, Hampshire, finally reunited with his dear wife, Ella. The <em>Reporter<\/em> published a fitting tribute about their former employee in November 2011: (<a title=\"Article\" href=\"http:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/TamesideReporter_111108_p12.jpg\">click here to view<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Norman Taylor \u00a0(14 May 1912 \u2013 23 September 2011) Norman was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, and after school he developed two major interests: art and music. Following graduation from art college, he became a commercial artist for the Ashton Under Lyne Reporter in 1933, while teaching at the art school &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/139"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=139"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1738,"href":"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/139\/revisions\/1738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/normantaylorgallery.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}