The Abstract Art of John L. Payne: "Eviction Notice" 24"x79"x1.5" - Acrylic on hollow core door panel

Monday, February 21, 2011

"Eviction Notice" 24"x79"x1.5" - Acrylic on hollow core door panel - $525.00 SOLD

This piece is the beginning of a new series of paintings that will be painted on re-purposed hollow core door panels. We are fortunate to have a Habitat for Humanity here in Springfield and I am able to purchase these used doors for a very reasonable price and at the same time stay the course in my efforts to create "green" artworks. Going green isn't about "saving the planet" for me. I believe the earth has and will continue to protect itself from all influences be they natural or human. I am a big believer however, in not being wasteful, which I am sure can be traced back to the influence my mother had on me as I was growing up. She herself grew up in the depression years and the impact of those years never left her.

Eviction Notice is a 24" x 79" acrylic piece that started out as a very small ballpoint pen doodle on a piece of scrap paper. I created a mirror image of the drawing and blew it up to fit on the large door panel. As I began to paint the figures in the foreground I noticed that in creating the mirror image I also created a new form in the center that I wasn't expecting. To me, it appeared as a frontal view of a serpent's head complete with fangs. With that in mind, the other two figures quickly evolved into representations of Adam and Eve in the Garden. As the story goes, the serpent appeared and beguiled Eve who then disobeyed God. Adam followed suit and they were soon "evicted" from their paradise.

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Artist Bio

Born in Oklahoma, John Payne began drawing and painting at the age of six. Though educated and involved in the arts well into college, his life and career path drastically changed when he enlisted into the United States Nuclear Navy at the age of 21. As a submariner, chemist and nuclear plant operator, safety became an integral part of his daily life. After leaving the Navy he followed a similar path working in radiation/chemical safety and ultimately as an Environmental Health and Safety Manager for over 20 years before returning full time to his passion as an artist. John is motivated by the works of the mid-century expressionists and current abstract artists alike. While some of John's work is pure expressionism, many of his pieces are more ordered in their chaos. This effort to control the abstraction with a sense of “boundaries” is reminiscent, states the artist, of the efforts we all make to live passionately while still attempting to conform to moral and social responsibilities. John’s work is thought provoking and often littered with social and philosophical commentary. As a Navy veteran John has traveled across the USA and to other countries as well, experiencing sights and cultures which have served as inspiration to his work. After 20+ years of working in the corporate world with art as his hobby, John has recently abandoned “the grind” to pursue his work as an artist in earnest. He offers that the decision was not only overdue but "very liberating". John lives in Springfield, Missouri with his wife Pattie and two dogs.