SATURDAY SIX Artist Spotlight: The Disney Related Artwork of Henry Taylor (AKA Theme Park Preservation Society)
This week the SATURDAY SIX Proudly Presents: The Theme Park Artwork of HENRY TAYLOR! To coincide with Disney’s Festival of the Arts, each February the SATURDAY SIX spotlights artists in the theme park community. Each of these artist spotlight features gives us a chance to appreciate an artist whose work uses characters, attractions, or any other part of the Disney or Universal theme parks. We began this annual tradition in 2021 and have continued each year (you can find previous artist features by CLICKING HERE.) The class of 2025 kicked off with Brandon Starr, followed by Kristi O., and today we are putting a focus on the wonderfully talented work of Henry Taylor.
***
Greetings! My name is Henry Taylor, and I’m a multi-disciplinary artist living in Orlando, Florida. Some may also know me as the Founder, Vice President, Lead Artist, Marketing Manager, and Chief Custodian of the “Theme Park Preservation Society.”
The Theme Park Preservation Society (herein referred to simply as, “The Society”) is an art project I started back in late 2019. The goal of the project was to expand my design abilities while also paying tribute to one of the things I’m most enamored with: theme parks and their stories.
Everything I make for The Society is designed to look and feel like it came right out of the story of the attraction it’s based on. If a ride is based in the early 1900s, every aspect of the piece is in service to that “fact”, from color and paper choice, to typography and illustration style. It has to feel just right. I want to share with you the six basic principles I use when working on projects for The Society. Hopefully by the end of them you get a good sense for and appreciation of the type of work I do.
# 6 – Fan Art is the Purest Form of Admiration
The very first project I undertook after starting The Society was one to honor my favorite live entertainment of all time: The Citizens of Hollywood at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I have always been in awe of the skill of the actors who portrayed the various characters you once could meet on Sunset Boulevard, and I wanted to immortalize them with their own era-appropriate collectible cards. The main goal was to make something to give to the actors in person but it became much more than that as other guests and fans wanted the cards as well.
Everything I make is from a fan’s point of view. What do fans like about this specific attraction/show/character? If I can get to the heart of that, I know I’ll have a successful piece.
# 5 – Make It Look Authentic
One goal in every piece I make is to design it to look like it came from whatever era the story takes place in. I go out of my way to analyze old ephemera, posters and artwork to mimic the style as close as possible. It gives me a target to aim for and a general guide for the overall style. I do a lot of aging, both in Photoshop and physically depending on the piece. If an item would have been printed on cheap paper, I make it look like cheap paper. If an item is supposed to be over 100 years old, I make it look like it. If it would have been hand-written, I mimic that as closely as possible. If something is too clean and new, it naturally feels inauthentic. The world is a grubby place, and most items eventually end up pretty grubby.
A series of ephemera pieces I made for a Jungle Cruise project. Each one was printed, hand cut, and hand-aged to look like it fell out of a boat in the 1930s.
This Frontierland piece was designed to look like a page from an old Sears catalog. Typography is often my biggest tool in making a piece look authentic. Finding the perfect typeface for a project can take quite a while, but it’s always worth the trouble.
I’ve done several 45-rpm records over the years. The frame, the aging on the sleeve and label, the style of the art work- everything works towards its authenticity.
This piece was designed to look like a museum display, complete with a tag describing its provenance. I hand-gilded the artwork to give it that extra pop of realism
# 4 – Make It Feel Authentic
Looking old isn’t enough to make something believable. It needs to feel right. This is an intangible quality that is hard to describe, but you know it when you see it. Most of that “feel” comes from approaching the project with a story in mind. Once I’ve narrowed down an era and an influence, I work backwards in my mind. When would this item have been made? Who made it? Was it mass-produced or hand-made? Where has the item been for all these years until we stumbled upon it? These and many more questions need to be answered in my mind so I can make the tiny design decisions.
This sign started out as a joke about how the Yeti on Expedition Everest doesn’t work. But by following the natural backstory train of thought, it ended up a rather striking piece imitating the beautiful hand-painted directional signage in Nepal. Is it 100% accurate to a real sign? No. But it feels right, so it works.
Here are some of my favorite prints I’ve made, in various vintage or retro styles. I strive to replicate the look of old artwork as authentically as possible.
# 3 – Fill A Creative Niche
What hasn’t been done before? This is a question most artists ask themselves all the time. Surprisingly, even after millennia of human existence, there’s always something that hasn’t been done yet. Some of my best ideas start with me asking my wife “wait– why hasn’t anyone done that yet?” and going from there.
Why hadn’t anyone “graded” and slabbed a “ticket” from the opening day of the Country Bear Jamboree? Either no one had thought of it yet, or no one was stupid enough to do it. I can proudly say I was stupid enough to think of it.
One of the great things about being a Theme Park fan is all the merchandise one can find about their favorite rides. One of the worst parts of being a Theme Park fan is all the stuff the corporate owners of said parks refuse to make. It’s usually for financial reasons (there aren’t enough people who would buy this, they say in their design meetings.) Working on a small scale like I do, I’m able to make things Disney or Universal would never make in a million years. Obscure references to defunct attractions. Artwork in a style that isn’t “marketable”. This is my bread and butter.
You know how everyone loves vintage sheet music from the early 20th century but referencing when Marie Osmond sang a song at the Disneyland 30h Anniversary? No? Well there are five people out there who do, and that’s who I make these things for.
“Why doesn’t Disney or Universal make ______?” That’s where I step in.
# 2 – Make Art For Yourself First
A lot of artists have trouble finding an audience. They worry too much about whether or not “people like what I’ve made.” In my experience, the best solution to that is to make things for yourself first. If it’s not a piece I would buy or hang on my wall, I don’t make it. I’ve found that enthusiasm for one’s own work is contagious and people respond to it. I had no idea if anyone else would care about a Lobby Card styled Muppet*Vision 3D poster. I made it because I wanted it. It turned out to be one of my most popular pieces.
Sometimes no one cares, and that’s ok! I, just like everyone, have my own specific taste. I have no expectations that anyone will respond to my work– but it’s always a nice bonus when they do.
![](https://blog-cdn.touringplans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Album-3-700x700.jpg)
# 1 – Don’t Take Yourself Or Your Work Too Seriously
Some of my projects evolve from nuggets of ideas, or specific styles of work that I want to imitate; but my favorites come to me in a flash of inspiration. These are almost always bad jokes. My portrait of Imagineer Joe Rohde as Vermeer ‘s “The Girl with the Pearl Earring” is one of those. The entire thing is a joke for those who know Joe and his famous earring. But it’s also the kind of piece you can have framed on the wall and those not in-the-know won’t give it a second look– but those who get it will love it.
And sometimes the exact *right* person loves it…
Another idea that made me laugh was what became my homage to Scooby-Doo and The Haunted Mansion. (Bear with me, this takes some set up.) So, in 1970, there was a television special titled “Disneyland Showtime”, which featured the Osmond Brothers galavanting around the park before their big show. It features a young Kurt Russell as their “guide” of sorts. The special is rather famous for a prolonged look at the, then brand new, Haunted Mansion. Kurt Russell shows off behind the scenes footage of how many of the effects in the attraction were created. I’ve always loved this special for its campiness and general goofiness.
I’ve also always been a big fan of Scooby-Doo, which coincidentally, was on the air at the same time as “Disneyland Showtime”. My initial idea was a mix of “What if the Haunted Mansion were an episode of Scooby-Doo” and “what if Donny Osmond and Kurt Russell were the guest stars?” So I got to work drawing out a scene with the Hatbox Ghost trying to spook the boys.
What it evolved into over the next two days was a fully animated clip using audio from the original “Disneyland Showtime” special in the style of a classic Scooby-Doo episode. You can check it out here:
I think this joke is self-explanatory:
My point is: make what you like. You’re your most important audience.
I want to thank Derek for inviting me to show off my work this week. It’s been an honor to be featured among such other great artists!
You can find me on Bluesky, @tgrahammemories.bsky.social (Personal account) @ThemeParkPreservationSociety.org as well as on Instagram /ThemeParkPreservationSociety and of course, my website, Theme Park Preservation Society.org
So there you have it: SATURDAY SIX Artist Spotlight – The Theme Park Artwork of Henry Taylor (AKA Theme Park Preservation Society)! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out the THEME PARK ENJOYMENT INDEX, giving a monthly recap of all the theme park news you need to know (and a lot more you don’t need to know, but we’re gonna tell you anyway). You can also follow Your Humble Author on bluesky (@derekburgan).
If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following:
Artist Spotlight Class of 2021: SonderQuest | Sam Carter | Brian Cooper | Sterling Denham
Artist Spotlight Class of 2022: Rob Yeo | Ava Buric | Jess Siswick | Hayden Evans
Artist Spotlight Class of 2023: Marie Catano | Savannah Hamilton | Bunny Wars
Artist Spotlight Class of 2024: Jaime S. | Jess Feldman | Bryan Bindman
Artist Spotlight Class of 2025: Brandon Starr | Kristi O | Henry Taylor
SATURDAY SIX Artist Spotlight: The Theme Park Artwork of Brian Gweon
SATURDAY SIX Artist Spotlight: The Theme Park Artwork of Phillip Weatherford (AKA The Horizoneer)
SATURDAY SIX Presents: Artists Inspired by Universal’s VELOCICOASTER
SATURDAY SIX Presents: Artists Inspired by Universal’s HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS