[1] During her formative academic years, she studied with Saul Bernstein,[2] John Henry Rock,[3] and Mark Sponenburgh[4] In 1978, Taylor pursued post-graduate independent study in Paris, France, under Gordon Gilkey, with specific concentration on the works of post-impressionist Pierre Bonnard, focusing on the usage of colour.

[8] In the early 1990s, Taylor moved to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, where she opened her own art gallery in Carlisle PA, and showed work there, in other national venues, and continuing to exhibit in Oregon.

[15] In 2004, Taylor and Kushnir opened a second art gallery in the East Village, Manhattan, where they exhibited their own works as well as other New York artists.

[20] In 2010, Taylor exhibited new paintings of irises and lupines from Oregon's famed Schreiner's Iris Gardens in a show titled "A Painted Garden," at American Painting Fine Art, Washington, D.C.[21] Taylor's work has been featured in the gallery and museum exhibitions throughout the United States, including in Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Los Angeles, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; New York, New York; Washington, D.C.; Boston, Massachusetts; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[1] Her work is in the Yaquina River Museum of Art,[24] Portland (Oregon) Art Museum,[25] and City of Lake Oswego Art Collection,[26] The Smithsonian Institution Libraries Collections database includes extensive files with Taylor's exhibition announcements, newspaper and/or magazine clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations, illustrations, resumes, artist's statements, and exhibition catalogs:[27] In a review of one of Taylor's exhibitions, the art critic stated "[a] window into the soul, this seems the most appropriate characterization of the quiescent, almost ethereal work of painter Michele Taylor….Taylor's strong knowledge of the oil medium and skilful execution of impressionist canon meld beautifully and effectively with her sensitive consideration of mood and feeling.