Professional photographer, RNLI crewman, Shantyman, father, husband and committed sea-lover, Chris Taylor is now showing off his Lino-printing prowess with the launch of ‘Norfolk Coast Art’.
Naturally, we’re thrilled to be stocking his work in Make Holt so wanted to take a little time to set the scene for his super work. Chris taught himself linocut printing in 2023 and enjoys the therapeutic nature of carving the soft lino to create images of salty scenes and the marine animals he loves so much.
A Life Before Lino
Born & bred in Sheringham and schooled at Gresham’s of Holt, Chris Taylor is a true North Norfolkian with deep rooted connections to our wonderful coastline.
Upon leaving school Chris studied marine biology before heading to Australia where he lived and dived for a year. All further entrenching the importance of the ocean in his daily life.
Fast forward to the year 2000 and he became an RNLI crew member, and in 2021 a Sheringham Shantymen, supporting their pursuits to raise money for Lifeboat Stations around the country. (Chris, Bottom Left)
It all began with a whale...
Since 2005 Chris has been a professional photographer and film-maker capturing a range of subjects including; luxury holiday rentals to wildlife, aerial landscapes and everything in between.
According to Chris, his professional photography career actually started many years prior back in 1994:
“I saw some stunning places on my travels and first ever paid photograph was taken in the Whitsundays in 1994 - a curious humpback whale came right alongside our boat 'spy-hopping'. When I took the film to get processed the lab asked if they could pay me to turn one of the shots into a postcard. The seed to become a professional photographer was sown.”
The Birth of Norfolk Coast Art
So, what do you get when you combine a lifelong love affair with the sea, and a 20 year career working in the creative industry? You get some of the most beautifully contrived, impressively detailed and perfectly pitched lino-prints.
By using licensed prints of the North Norfolk coast nautical charts as a backing for some of his prints Chris hopes to bring his love for the sea and this area into people’s homes.
“A multi-layered reduction-cut lino print of a fresh mackerel, invoking memories of bay summer evenings on the North Norfolk coast with the calm waters ‘boiling’ with schools of mackerel hunting whitebait just feet from the shoreline. The fishermen cast into the melee with empty hooks baited with nothing more than feathers, seconds later straining with bending rods to reel in a writhing mass of silvery,fresh mackerel.”
Love Chris's work? Us too! The full range is available in store, with a limited selection online here.