About the Artist

Biography-Christopher Allen Payne

Chris was born into a legacy of the old west. His father’s family homesteaded ranches in Lincoln County, New Mexico in the early 1900s. He learned to romanticize the West at an early age, raised on tales of Billy the Kid, Black Jack Ketchum, and Charles Goodnight that his father, Ken Payne shared with him. Chris also has ties to Texas through both his father and mother spending some of his childhood in Lake Dallas where his father worked as an airline pilot. Ken eventually moved his young family back to his roots in New Mexico and devoted his time to painting and sculpting scenes of cowboy life. Chris learned the many skills of ranch life and his love of art developed with his exposure to the vibrant art scene in Santa Fe, traveling there with his father numerous times.

Chris began working for Ken in the small foundry he had built in Nogal, NM learning the inner workings of a bronze casting foundry. He also began selling his father’s sculptures in Eastern New Mexico and West Texas. Ken hired Laurie Stone, the daughter of an old family friend, to make molds and work waxes in his small foundry. Chris and Laurie became good friends and eventually were married in 1982.

Eventually, the couple started their own foundry and their own family. The family relocated to Santa Fe where Chris began working at Mountain Trails Gallery. He became a gallery owner himself soon thereafter. Chris was in his element, able to combine his love of people with his love of art. He began his own collection of favorite artists and began many enduring friendships.

After focusing on his family and operating his own gallery, Chris picked up his sculpting tools and began a new chapter. Chris drew from his exposure to wildlife, ranch life, and tales of the old west to bring his experiences and memories to life in clay. Following in his father’s footsteps, he loves to sculpt people and animals in action.