Stanley Leonard (Buck) Taylor was born in London. After the family moved to Margate in Kent,Taylor studied briefly at Margate Art College. The outbreak of World War II interrupted his studies and led to service in the RAF and a ten year stint after the war as an RAF officer in the Far East. This experience is reflected in many of his paintings. After resigning from his post, he studied art at Cambridge Art College, moving to Cornwall in the 1960s. Living on the coast at Cape Cornwall, he became involved with the St Ives School of Art, devoting much of his time to painting. During this period he met such prominent painters as Peter LANYON, Bryan WYNTER, Karl WESCHKE and Francis BACON. Many of Taylor's paintings reflect the landscape of Cape Cornwall.

In 1972 Taylor moved to Munster in Germany, from where he travelled extensively, exhibiting widely in Germany and the Netherlands. Much of his work is held in private ownership or public collections in Munster. He died in Munster in 2012.