Sybil Taunton is an artist from the UK who loves combining tape and acrylic paint to make unique paintings of people – all inspired by one tape art class she took! Learn more about her work and how she uses Pro Tapes® below.
Do you have a website or any social media sites you’d like to share with our audience?
I just share my art on my personal Instagram account at the moment: @Syb_Something
How long have you been practicing art? What have you experimented with before discovering tape?
Both of my parents are very creative and artistic, so I’ve been around art my whole life. I took an art class in high school that made me realize I was quite good at drawing, but I don’t often have the patience to finish sketches properly and completely. I also love painting with acrylics.
How did you discover Pro Tapes® tape products?
My wife signed me up for a “Painting with Tape” class for my birthday last year, and the instructor used Pro Tapes®. I absolutely loved the class, and the idea of creating art with tape, so I looked up Pro Tapes® and ordered every color I could find.
That’s awesome! Do you remember who taught the class / where it was taught?
The class was taught by Michael Budd, who you’ve already done a feature on! (It’s true: read Michael’s feature here!)
When I took his class he had mostly been focused on portraits of famous musicians. I’m really impressed and inspired by his transition to landscapes using a much more detailed and layered process.
That’s what makes tape art so much fun, it can be used in so many different ways and continuously evolve us as artists.
Can you tell our audience a little bit about what inspires your artwork and process?
Most often, people do. I get ideas from friends or family and just run with them. Other times I will simply see a photo on social media or Pinterest that jumps out at me, and I love challenging myself to recreate them in my own way.
Which of our Pro Tapes® products do you use these days, and what other materials or tools do you use alongside tape to create your art? How do they work together?
I like to combine my acrylic painting and tape work because I love the balance of mess and precision. My painting style is very abstract, which makes for great backgrounds but somewhat boring stand-alone pieces.
I mostly use paper tapes (like our Pro® 46 and Pro® Artist) and cloth tapes (like Pro Gaff®), but I have also worked foil tapes (like Pro® Sheen) into some of my pieces as well. The tape allows me to create very detailed and elaborate designs or portraits over the top of the paint that make the overall pieces more complex and beautiful.
What are your favorite qualities of our Pro Tapes® products? What do our tapes allow you to do that other materials/tools do not?
I really appreciate the different textures and color options available through Pro Tapes® . The paper tapes allow for easier detail work, and the cloth tapes are great for more bold and structured pieces.
The best thing about creating art with tape is that making mistakes isn’t as frustrating. If you don’t like what you’ve created, you can just peel it off and try again.
If someone has never used tape to create art, what advice would you have for them?
Don’t get tunnel vision and think linear just because you are using tape, especially with paper tape. You can tear or cut any shape you want, so get creative and have fun with it!
