Dustin Payne represents the third generation of professional western sculptors in his family, so it comes as no surprise that the trade was a natural path for him. On his mother’s side he is a descendant of Hiram Daugherty and Mary Jane Goodnight, the sister of Texas Cattle King, Charlie Goodnight. Goodnight and Oliver Loving brought the first longhorns across country from Texas, inaugurating the cattle drive era. As a child, Dustin enjoyed the drawings and books of Will James and was heavily influenced by the historical nature of his father and grandfathers work. He enjoys researching the history of the subjects he creates and is greatly inspired by his family’s western roots. When not sculpting, Dustin enjoys Team Roping and loves to spend time outdoors on his family’s ranch.

Dustin was featured in Southwest Art’s annual “Top 21 under 31”, Southwest Art ‘My World: A visit with father-and-son sculptors Vic and Dustin Payne at their studio in Cody, WY’ (July 2009), Western Horseman ‘Four Western Artists under 45’ (June 2009), Art of the West (March/April 2009), Western Art Collector, ‘Molding a Family Legacy’ (August 2008), and was inducted into the Western Artists of America in 2007