We recently connected with Payton Harris-Woodard and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Payton thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

One of my biggest hurdles in the art world, is feeling like I am creating outsider art due to the ideas in my work. I am always happy to be invited to show my work, then I would look at the title, and it would always be odd, unique “names”. I felt like, why can I only fit in this “type” of space?

I had to realize that the depiction of the black fem body in the nude, shown in different contortions, challenges our ideas of black portraiture, and beauty. For me, it was unintentional. With the work being inspired by photos of myself, I had to re learn my own identity, while toggling how to represent both narratives in my work simultaneously. While trying to piece the fragments of my own story together, I learned to stop trying to control the puzzle, and to organically let the fragmentation becomes its own non linear story. Regarding the opinions of others, I had to think about what is aspirational to others in art, and what may be deemed as offensive, versus what I find aspirational and/or offensive. People would asl questions regarding sexuality, or stereotypes, and I welcome both. In the end, I had to ask myself, if I can’t paint myself naked, what can I paint at all? Sometimes I feel pretty, sometimes I feel ugly, battling both inside and out, my work illustrates both; its like a yin and yang. Are others seeing my stereotype of myself, or their stereotype of me, and what does this mean?

My favorite part is that this sort of, chaos, allows me to begin conversations with people who I may never have talked with otherwise. The of agreements, and disagreements create the fragments of the narrative.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a child, you would most likely catch me using my mothers office papers and staple to make paper shoes. Or mixing up soap and glue to make my own paper mache, and on a good day, painting at the easel. I received my Bachelors of Arts from Columbia College Chicago, where I met a group of teachers, all women who mentored me. I attended my first residency at Haystack Mountain of crafts in Deer Isle, Maine; which led me to receiving my Masters of Fine art in Painting and Drawing from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2022.

I work as a Program Coordinator at a non for profit, called Arts of life, where we provide creative studio, and community for adult artists with development disabilities. I also accept commissions, and host paint parties for underfunded, and BIPOC groups on the Southside of Chicago. What sets me apart, is the awareness of lack of accessibility of arts materials, and overall education, depending on what neighborhood and/or area you reside in. I am most proud of being able to adapt to serving multiple types of communities, and invite others to explore the same.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

At the age of 11 years old, I developed Potts puffy tumor, which causes a large knot to form on my forehead. My grandmother took me to the doctors, who immediately did a cat scan, and sent me to Children’s Memorial Hospital for immediate brain surgery. Fluid had built in my cranium, and had to be drained out. When I awoke,I remembered the front of my hair was shaved off, and I had a long dissolve stitch across my forehead. After a few weeks, I was off of bed rest, and went through a series of IQ testing. I recovered fully, and as an adult, realized that I had experienced a body trauma at an early age. 13 years later, my work are these sort of dissected, celebratory figures. I realized how resilient I am, and how/why that is transparent through my work.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started funding my creative practice with the help of my Mother, mentors I met along the way in art academia, artist grants, and social media. Initially, I was always hesitant to share, and it took a long time for me to say I was an artist. I had never known anyone that had a profession in art, and had only seen paintings and sculpture in Museums. With encouragement from my family and classmates, I began to apply to shows and grants etc. Once I started to show my art, it started to get wind, and I began to slowly receive more and more offers to show. I used the money from jobs here and there, and selling my small works to afford equipment to have stocks of easels, smocks, and acrylic paint to print business cards, and paint parties. Someone refereed me to church group, and interest traveled from there. I had to pivot during covid to virtual parties, and once I began to show it got a bit hectic, but Paydeaux Paints was birthed.

Contact Info:

• Website: paydeauxpaints.com
• Instagram: @paydeauxx
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/payton-harris-woodard-71387a110/

Image Credits
Headshot, Credits to photographer, Jeff Rosal