Born into a lineage of professional artists - including his great-grandfather, uncle and father - Taillefer Long has been immersed in art his whole life. In 1978, Taillefer began his journey in Florence, Italy, while his father - realist painter Ben Long - was still serving as apprentice to Maestro Pietro Annigoni. From this auspicious start, Taillefer shared in the itinerant lifestyle of a burgeoning expatriate artist, immersed in the art communities of Florence, Provence and Paris. When the time came to return to the United States, Taillefer made the difficult decision to eschew his natural predisposition for art - due, in part, to a sense of "overexposure" - and pursued a double major in International Relations and Romance Languages at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nevertheless, Taillefer continued to develop his artistic identity during this period, including contributing to the Daily Tar Heel as editorial cartoonist for four years.

Fluent in four languages and with extensive travel experience, Taillefer began his professional career in cultural travel. Over the course of 3 years, he led art patrons and donors of major museums on international tours. Throughout these travels, Taillefer drew incessantly: he published cartoons, illustrations, childrens' books and book covers, and began teaching himself to use a wider range of media, including watercolor, pastel, and digital software.

Although this outlet provided him with an audience for his creative talent, Taillefer's artistic vision was constrained by the limitations of the illustration field. As a result, he began devoting more and more time to his vision with a view toward establishing his own voice in the art world.

In 2005, while pursuing a master's degree in Web Design and Project Management in Rome, at the Istituto Europeo di Design, Taillefer had the opportunity to assist Sicilian artist Bruno Caruso. In Caruso’s studio, overlooking the Colosseum, Taillefer was inspired to making art a more central part of his career.

Currently, Taillefer is working on several series in pastel and pen and ink. In his work, subject matter and media yield to a more universal visual narrative. Among his influences are German expressionism and the Old Master draughtsmen. Although Taillefer has only recently begun to display his fine art, his career as a fine artist is well underway.