I started painting in oil when I was 11 years old. It was a lucky break for me that my Aunt Ruth gave me a paint-by-numbers set for my birthday. I had been drawing for as long as I can remember, but oil paint had a magical quality. I still recall the moment I said to myself, “Oh, I get it. I see how this all works”.

A simple gift opened a door and I stepped through, and have been painting ever since. Because I went to about a dozen grammar schools before age 12, I was always the ‘new kid’, but at least I was the new kid who could draw. Art gave me a place to be me, an identity, and a connection to others.

I’ve never been the kind of artist who goes outdoors and paints from nature. I’ve always imagined pictures from my daydreams, and put them on paper or canvas. In my head, I can be in a beautiful ballroom, gorgeous New York penthouse, or drive the most fantastic car from the ‘thirties in glamorous clothes. And that’s where I like to be. But, it wasn’t always like this...

My mother was a nightclub singer. She sang at the famous Zebra Club in New York, where gangsters and movie stars drank and danced. She told me stories of her life in the great city, as she went to auditions and studied voice. She also sang on cruise ships bound for Cuba.

And a tough life it was for Lillian McTaaffe, whose mother died the day before her third birthday. Her dad did his best with 3 girls under 5, but his job selling Crossley radios took him away from home. Music was her saving grace throughout her childhood, and her passion all of her life.

Dad was a handsome, restless man who attracted additional attention with his penchant for beautiful automobiles. However, his troubled childhood had left scars, and his anger could spill out at any time. When war broke out, Dad enlisted in the Army Air Force and became a bomber pilot.

I met my father when I was 14 months old. He returned to the small bungalow in Hollywood, where my mother had moved to work in an airplane factory. He had survived 28 bombing missions, and now he was back, to start over and begin his new life.

Dad became a district manager for a soft drink company, and we followed his career as he moved from Albuquerque to Montecito, to Chico, and finally, landing in the San Fernando Valley, where his new career as a stockbroker brought some stability to the family. My brother, Brian, was a good companion through all the moves.

After high school, I attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. I thought I wanted to be a dress designer, and took design and art classes. Mr. Green, my art teacher, asked me to take a walk with him. As we walked around the grounds, he told me that I had a unique style, and that he liked it a lot! He said that I should stay true to myself, and never, ever, copy another artist or teacher. I think of Mr. Green with great appreciation and thank him for the freedom those words gave me as an artist.

After the University of Arizona, I got a job working at a boutique advertising agency in Hollywood. It was a 3 story Victorian house on Sunset at Ogden, that had been converted to offices. It was a creative place to start one’s career, as I had decided not to pursue dress design, and was still looking for the right place to nest.

At that time, I started the Deco Series. I had no idea it would become a series, but I painted a small picture of a woman on the beach, that had a very ‘thirties look. I had so much fun doing it, that I did another, and another. It seemed to me that all the elements were present for my creative expression, including my love of fashion design, architecture, and automobiles of the ‘thirties, and so, an art deco artist was born.

Art Deco. It sounds like a party, and evokes images of glamour and excitement. Once, I chased a guy driving a red auburn through the Valley, and asked him if I could photograph his car for a future painting. He was gracious and did so, and I put his car in the fantasy painting, “Way Out West”. Twenty years later, I was the proud owner of my own 1934 Auburn Boattail Speedster! And I’m still painting my Auburn in my paintings.

The Deco Ladies are a tribute to women, and seem like a natural extension to the Deco Series. Many of them are inspired by friends and family, and are a joy to paint.

Recently, I started a new ‘series’. I wanted to honor animals in my own way, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. So, in 1997, I started a painting of a tiger. For years, I struggled with the concept, finally finishing it in 2001. That was it until 2005, when I painted deer in Paradise Valley, the “Night Vision”, and then... .well, you get the picture.

My mom and I collaborated on a children’s book, and I recently converted the black and white drawings into vibrant oil paintings. It’s a great story and I loved spending time with my characters, Shaun, Nessie, and Freddie. 12 pages of the finished manuscript are featured on the site.