Michael Gustavius Payne (born 1969) is a Welsh figurative painter. He paints primarily in

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturat ...

and is influenced by mythological themes within a contemporary context. During his early exhibiting career he was known as Michael Payne, before he began using his full name. Since late 2012 he has dropped his first name and now uses the shorter Gustavius Payne.

Early life and education

Payne was born in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

and raised on the town's Gurnos estate during the mid-1970s until the early 1990s. During 1991–1993, he attended the Mid Glamorgan Centre of Art & Design Technology,

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

, where he won the Student of The Year Award at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

, prompting the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

arts programme ''The Slate'' to include an article about the artist on their ''Eisteddfod Special'' in 1993, shown initially on

BBC1 Wales BBC One Wales is a Welsh free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales. It is the Welsh variation of the UK-wide BBC One network and is broadcast from Central Square in Cardiff. History and operation The first televisi ...

and also, shortly after throughout the UK, on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

. During 1993–1996, he studied at Cheltenham School of Art, where he gained a First Class BA Honors degree in fine art painting.McLean, Pauline (1997), "Drawing on Myths & Legends – With A Dog on the Loose", '' Western Mail'', 24 May 1997, p. 8. During his time at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, Payne was granted a place on the ERASMUS programme at the

Athens School of Fine Arts The Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA; , ΑΣΚΤ) is a Greek higher education institution, specializing in the visual arts. History The Athens School of Fine Arts was established on 12 January 1837, known as the ''School for the Arts''. In the ...

. Upon completion of his degree at Cheltenham he won the Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Society's Art Purchase Prize, before returning to Wales to live initially in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, then later in

Dowlais Dowlais () is a village and Community (Wales), community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The populati ...

.Ellis, Geraint (Director) (2008), Sioe Gelf, episode 14, Cwmni Da, first broadcast (in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

but with English subtitles available) 05/11/08 on

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

Career

Recent work has drawn reference to Welsh culture, globalisation and exploitation. His 2011 joint exhibition with poet Mike Jenkins used a common political theme, with the traditional coal miners' canary as a symbol of exploitation of the 'little guy', as well as the exploitation of nature. Similar ecological and socialist themes can also be seen in more recent exhibitions together with his painting "Our Very Own Eco-System" held in the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales (USW) () is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport. The ...

collection, and his cover illustration for ''Red Poets #19'' magazine. His work is also held in other collections including the Museum of Modern Art Wales' Tabernacle Collection and the

Cheltenham & Gloucester Cheltenham & Gloucester plc (C&G) was a mortgage and savings provider in the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. C&G specialised in mortgages and savings products. Previously, C&G was a building society, the Cheltenham and Glou ...

building society.
Exhibition Dim Gobaith Caneri by Mike Jenkins and MG Payne

He was elected into

The Welsh Group The Welsh Group () is an artists' collective, with the purpose of exhibiting and "giving a voice" to the visual arts in Wales. Beginnings The group began in 1948 as the South Wales Group, consisting of both professional and amateur artists.Kar ...

in 2013. In 2014 he provided the cover art for

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band "

The Joy Formidable The Joy Formidable is a Welsh people, Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 2007 in Mold, Flintshire, and currently based in London, England. The band consists of Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan (lead vocals, guitar) and Rhydian Dafydd (bass guitar, b ...

" single " Tynnu Sylw " (aka) " Aruthrol B". In 2018 he provided the cover art for the singles "Can A Song Save Your Life", "Sugar", "Rabbit Hole" and "(W.A.L.L.S.) Within A Little Love Song", following in 2020 by providing the entire album art (a total of 21 paintings) for the album ''Working To Design'' by

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

Anthony Price (under musical pseudonym name "dunkie"). In 2021 Payne also provided further cover art for the "dunkie" project for their 5-track EP entitled "The Vanishing and Other Stories".

Notable exhibitions

*2013, ''The Cause and Effect Hypothesis'', Art Central,

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

, Wales. *2012, ''New Work'', Ffin-y-Parc,

Llanrwst ; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is on the east bank of the River Conwy and the A470 road, and lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (histori ...

, Wales. *2011 – 2012, ''Dim Gobaith Caneri'', Cyfarthfa Castle (

), Museum of Modern Art Wales, Washington Gallery (

Penarth Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

) and West Wales Arts Centre. (An

Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; ) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council (), its English name w ...

project across Wales, in collaboration with poet Mike Jenkins). *2010, ''Master Strokes'', (with Clive Hicks-Jenkins, Kevin Sinott and 4 other artists), Museum of Modern Art Wales, Wales. *2008, ''Welsh Myth'', Washington Gallery, Wales. *2004, ''Nature or Nurture'', West Wales Arts Centre,

Fishguard Fishguard (, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,400 (rounded to the nearest 100) as of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Modern Fishguard consists of two parts, Lowe ...

, Wales. *2001, ''Dreams, Fairy Tales, Myths & Nightmares'', Washington Gallery,

, Wales.Jones, Hannah, "Quirky View of A Fragile Dreamscape", '' Western Mail'', 26 October 2001, p. 12.

Publications

''Gustavius Payne: Artwork 2007–2012'' (self-published book) Payne has also co-edited and written forewords for three Merthyr Tydfil anthologies, ''All Roads Lead To Merthyr'', ''Never Mind The White Socks Here's Merthyr Tydfil'' and ''Merthyr Writing''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Michael Gustavius 1969 births Living people People from Merthyr Tydfil 20th-century Welsh painters 21st-century Welsh painters 21st-century Welsh male artists Members of The Welsh Group Welsh socialists Alumni of the University of Gloucestershire British political artists Welsh male painters 20th-century Welsh male artists