Adair Payne

The Dance of Autumn

Nobody can capture landscapes in breath taking fashion quite like Adair Payne. Combining his lifelong passion for nature with his background in graphic arts Adair captures with meticulous accuracy the beauty and spirit of the landscape. He has the unique ability to present us with scenery that balances the conditions of light and shadow in such a way that it grabs our heart and pierces our soul, much in the same way as if we were right there. The following about this artist's fascinating history is from our website, www.hansongalleryfineart.com.

Adair Payne is native of Northern California, from the community of Lincoln in the Sierra Nevada foothills northeast of Sacramento. He began painting the local countryside at an early age, being commissioned by local collectors and land-owners. While his creative direction was unusual in the time and place of his youth, he was compelled to speak for the land, calling attention to the natural world around him.

Taking a brief hiatus from creative work just after high school, Payne served a voluntary mission for his church in Argentina for two years. He then resumed his artistic education with a major in graphic design. In spite of his connection with the land, at that time he preferred the idea of a busy and interactive creative environment instead of the solitary work of a studio painter.

After receiving his BFA from Brigham Young University, and after a brief stint as a graphic designer in Los Angeles, Payne was hired as an artist and graphic designer by the an agency in Washington, DC. Before too long Payne preferred to be back in the wide open space of the West. He then gradually moved into a career in commercial illustration, specializing in colorful and lavishly illustrated story maps for corporate clients as well as the tourism industry. A short list of his favorite clients includes Crystal Cruises, Visa, Intel, Honda, Chrysler, Delta Airlines, Lucent Technologies, and Motorola.

In more recent years, Payne's career has come full-circle back to his roots, now focusing his energy entirely on painting his native landscape. His objective is to record the visual impressions of a rich, unique, and gentle land that is quickly becoming increasingly developed and exploited. 

The artist's philosophy is fairly straight-forward, motivated by a deep connection to the land that nourished his spirit and body from the beginning, returning something of appreciation which he hopes inspires others who contemplate the Northern California landscape. Consistently, Payne's finished art has a pervasive sense of tranquility, reverence for the natural world, and often an element of solitude and retreat.

Payne is fairly obsessive about the emotional effects of light on the landscape. Typically, very early morning light and very late sunlight are his preference, though he's also fascinated with the moodiness of fog and California's seasonal thick, humid atmosphere.

While he is essentially self-taught as a painter, his approach to painting has evolved over a lifetime, influenced and informed by years as a graphic designer and illustrator. A viewer may first notice the artist's attention to detail. However, the overall design, the visual energy of the composition and its emotional impact are his key concerns as he begins work. He is equally versatile in watercolor and acrylic, but his large landscape work is always executed in oil since it provides the ideal working properties for his preferred subject matter and style.


For questions or more information please email us info@hansongalleryfineart.com or call us at (415) 332-1815.