Born and raised in the southern tourist haven, Destin, Florida, Taylor Shaw was raised in a Special Operations Military family. While his Dad was overseas he would help his Mother paint furniture, houses, and condos. He and his two brothers became the makeshift handymen around the house and tried to keep things running. After graduating undergrad at Mississippi State with a BFA in Painting, Shaw moved to Austin, Texas to pursue a new phase of his art career. After a year of making art, he started a food truck business which quickly outgrew itself into a restaurant. After running Austin Daily Press for 4 years, Shaw sold his business and moved to Athens to continue his art education.

Shaw's research revolves around the image of tourist towns and what inhabitants reality is. What an outsider's perspective of tourism hotspot vs. what the locals experience. Wrapped up in this research is the economy of nostalgia, the souvenir, mini-golf as an economic equalizer, and "The FloridaMan" phenomenon. Class indicators and clichés are explored to find truths, inconsistencies, and a deeper understanding of the "local experience".