Debra Payne

My husband and I live on the outskirts of Kansas City, on a few acres, surrounded by cows, pasture and fields. I am a Kansas girl, born and raised, and though now in my “middle age” I still love the midwest landscape. I spent many of my earlier years teaching drawing and painting to high school students. A career of sharing the great vocabulary of art with others was something I enjoyed immensely.

Today however, I am able to explore this vocabulary first hand.

When asked for an artist statement I try to keep it simple. I am a contemporary realist. I wish to be up-to-date yet still honor the tradition of realism. I hope that doesn’t sound like an impossible combination of ideas. To choose either one exclusively would be impossible. I am compelled to record the ordinary scenes I encounter in a contemporary fashion that combines the natural with the abstract, the romantic with the classical, and the contemporary with the traditional; bringing these opposing ways of working together in a beautiful way.