Taylor Shaw

Greetings from Destin is a commissioned work by Taylor Shaw, a native of Destin and former restaurant owner who left epicurean pursuits to dedicate himself to his consuming passions: creating and teaching art. Shaw, who works under the signature name Tay-Tay, was featured in Burnway Magazine and has exhibited at the Alabama Contemporary in Mobile, the Mast Gallery in Atlanta, and the Lyndon House Arts Center in Athens, Georgia, among others.

The mural’s postcard aesthetic incorporates Shaw’s signature text-based style, with the words “Greetings from Destin, FLA” displayed against a sunset-orange sky. Despite the relative simplicity of the composition, the artist pays full tribute to Destin’s beauty and bounty, weaving representative images into each letter. Cartoon-like silhouettes of boats, waves, dolphins, and palm trees are some of the elements used to create a fun, tropical feel. In juxtaposition to the playful letters, the mural’s background—with its richly shaded sky and detailed seagrass—imparts a measure of photographic realism to the work.

This very contrast is what defines Shaw as an artist: a restless seeker who plumbs the depths of what appears to be in order to discover what is.