We recently connected with DES Taylor and have shared our conversation below.

DES, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Ever since I studied Graphic Design and Imagemaking at West Herts College, way back in ’92 While others in my class were studying to become freelance designers I was already plying my trade and earning extra money designing letterheads and nightclub flyers. My designs caught the eye of a young Geri Halliwell (Spice Girl) who commissioned me to do a poster for a fitness class she was running in town. A few years later she was Number one in the charts. Who knew? My other claim to fame at the time was being the UK Official Micheal Jackson fan club illustrator. That is a whole story in itself.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

To start off with, I’m primarily an Illustrator that has been in the right place at the right time or has socialized with constructive people that have led me to some fantastic opportunities in print, TV and film. Born and bred in Tottenham, North London I first began designing art for nightclubs and bars in the town of Watford, Hertfordshire but my life changed after a sketch of Michael Jackson was sent to Adrian Grant the editor of Off The Wall magazine and ended up being seen by the King of Pop himself. From then I used that springboard to create illustrations for magazines like More, Company, Cosmopolitan and for major brands like DC Entertainment, Universal Music, Ann Summers, Theo Fennell , Thomas Pink, and many more.
My work is a unique fusion of classic pin-up, animation, comic art, and Pop art which is mainly focused on female characters inspired by the actresses of the 40’s-70’s and has been exhibited in galleries in Rome, Las Vegas, Hamburg and Paris.
I’m most proud of some of the emails and letters I get from people who tell me my art has either inspired them in some way or has made them feel happy that day. It motivates me to keep doing what I do, even when I’m not feeling creative.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

HA! I didn’t understand much about NFT’s until I started to make money from them. A fellow artist introduced me to the whole scene a few years ago and I couldn’t get my head around why someone would pay for a Jpeg of my art rather than own a physical piece. So on my platform, I made sure that every customer who purchased an NFT, owned a signed piece of artwork. Most recently I’ve seen value in them but for a different use. Working with the digital company Metagallery.ltd has helped my brand engage with my audience more deeply, By using Digital tokens as authentication to unlock exclusive merchandise, artwork, and ‘meet and greets’ in my OWN Virtual gallery space I can bring
– real value
– build trust and loyalty
– revenue in different ways
-Grow my community

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I’ve written and Illustrated 7 books and would LOVE to see one of my creations on screen. I have a comic book series out at the moment (Scarlett Couture- The Munich File) with some fantastic reviews. I’m currently working on a comic book with Disney animator Robb Pratt, which I think would be perfect as an animated feature. One of my books was optioned for a show years ago but it unfortunately fell through. Since then, I’ve been driven to achieve this one goal.
It hasn’t helped when many of my readers reply in social media comments ‘ THIS WOULD MAKE A GREAT MOVIE!’

Contact Info:

• Website: www.despopart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/despopart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/despopart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/despopart/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DESPOPART
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DesTaylorDESPOP

Image Credits
Chris Gomez Photography & Dom C Wong