RANDOLPH A. PAYNE

  
RANDOLPH ALLEN PAYNE  
Artist Randolph Allen Payne died peacefully but unexpectedly on August 11, 2014 two days before his 75th birthday. Mr. Payne was born in Augusta County, VA, was graduated from the University of Virginia, and served in the U.S. Navy. Throughout his life, he was a devoted, accomplished and prolific artist. He died on Chincoteague Island, VA, where for 25 years he and his wife ran a gallery; the family lives part of the year in Salisbury, MD. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Nancy Sloan Payne, his daughter Anna Straub, her husband Gary and his dearly loved granddaughter, Erin Elizabeth.Mr. Payne was known especially for his scenes of the Virginia countryside, for his transformed furniture, and for his artistic innovations and passions. The scenes he depicted go beyond the usual, the pretty. He worked mostly in acrylics, showing intense interest in composition and color use. Mr. Payne's work was shown at his gallery, CLOUDS, on Chincoteague Island, at his mid-1960s NEW MASTERS gallery in Old Town Alexandria, and in many Washington, DC galleries. His works were in Virginia Artist Exhibitions and traveling exhibitions organized by the Virginia Museum in Richmond. His paintings are in national and international collections including those of Phillip Morris, Xerox, First and Merchants Corporation, the University of Virginia, and United Utilities. His donated works benefitted community-based organizations such as the Museum of Chincoteague Island, the YMCA, and The Library. His paintings are also in many private homes and collections. From the early 1970s until his retirement in 1996 he taught in the upper School Visual Arts Department at St. Stephen's School and then at St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Virginia. He was an active and innovative teacher, making use of technology and music in his classroom-studio, and his many students benefitted from this astute visual ability and intense interest in contemporary art.Mr. Payne was predeceased by his mother, Margaret Koontz Payne Hardman, and his father, C. Edgar Payne. Donations may be made to the Museum of Chincoteague Island, P.O. Box 352, Chincoteague, VA 23336 for the RANDOLPH PAYNE VISUAL ARTS AWARD, which will be presented annually to a graduating Chincoteague High School student or to the Museum's summer internship program. He also once stated he wished that after his death people would plant a tree of their choice in his memory.A celebration of his life will be announced and take place later this year.