‘It’s heavy stuff out at sea, so I paint to stay level’: the lifeboatman taking the UK art world by storm

Mark Taylor is used to steering through dangerous seas – now he will have to navigate the London art market

Stormy seas are a common challenge for lifeboatman Mark Taylor. As a skilled coxswain of the RNLI boat that serves the coast around Tynemouth in the north-east of England, he has often faced down dangerous swells to reach mariners in distress.

But this weekend Taylor, who has also become a sought-after artist, is getting used to the contrasting waters of the Thames. After working on his painting in his studio near his North Shields home, the 43-year-old has been picked out for a London exhibition and a new artistic residency on the banks of the Thames in Canary Wharf.