Hal Taylor

I have never considered myself an illustrator until recently. My strong suits have always been typography and lettering, which I still do an awful lot of. But it occured to me some time ago that lettering is a form of illustrating, so why not explore other possibilites?

I enjoy working in digital media, but there's something about a two-dimensional surface that appeals to the tensile senses. The bulk of my illustration work has been for Townsend Press, one of the country's leading academic publishers, who I must commend for their efforts in encouraging young adults from low-income backgrounds to read. Many of the pieces shown here were originally created for them using digital media and then re-worked using more traditional techniques.

A number of my pieces have been exhibited at The Philadelphia Sketch Club, the oldest artist's organization in the Western Hemisphere. Originally begun in 1860 it's members have included Thomas Eakins, N.C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish, Peter Boyle, Benton Spruance and many, many others.

©2010 Hal Taylor. All rights reserved.
Custom IllustrationsThe Elephant in the Room(Sir Henry Malcolm Tusker). Promotional piece
exhibited at the Philadelphia Sketch Club's Works on Paper Exhibit, 2010
Custom IllustrationsCover illustration for the Townsend Press edition of
My Antonia by Willa Cather.
Custom IllustrationsToad. Color Version of black & white illustration created for
the Townsend Press edition of The Wind in the Willows.
Shown at the Philadelphia Sketch Club's Works on Paper Exhibit, 2009.
Custom IllustrationsCover illustration for the Townsend Press edition of
The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Custom IllustrationsProposed cover illustration for Dubliners by James Joyce.
Custom IllustrationsCover illustration for the Townsend Press edition of
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.
Custom IllustrationsRe-worked line illustration for the Townsend Press edition of Frankenstein.
Shown at the Philadelphia Sketch Club's Works on Paper Exhibit, 2009.
Custom IllustrationsCover illustration for the Townsend Press edition of Riki-Tiki-Tavi by Rudyard
Kipling. Shown at the Philadelphia Sketch Club's Phillustration Exhibit, 2009.
Custom IllustrationsProposed cover illustration for The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Custom IllustrationsProposed cover illustration for Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Custom IllustrationsSelf-promotion piece
Custom IllustrationsProposed illustration of Frederick Douglass for poster promoting reading.
Custom IllustrationsInterior illustration for the Townsend Press edition of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth
Grahame. Featured in The Illustrators of The Wind in the Willows, 1908-2008
by Carolyn Hares-Stryker.
Custom IllustrationsPromotional piece. Love that Jersey sweet corn!
Custom IllustrationsProposed illustration of Malcolm X for poster to promote reading.
Custom IllustrationsIllustration and hand-lettering for Townsend Press. The titling became
Wells Grotesque, which is shown in the Type Design page of this site.
Custom IllustrationsCover illustration for the Townsend Press edition of
The Scarlet Letter by Nathianel Hawthorne.
Custom IllustrationsCover illustration and design for the Townsend Press.
Custom IllustrationsCover illustration, hand-lettering and design for the Townsend Press.
Custom IllustrationsCover illustration and design for the Townsend Press.
Custom Illustrations Interior illustration for Animal Rescue by Tanya Savory, published by Townsend Press.
Custom IllustrationsInterior illustration for Animal Rescue by Tanya Savory, published by Townsend Press.