Homesickness Series is a series of monochromatic ink paintings/drawings on paper that addresses universal issues of loss as related to our relationship with home and the individual and collective stories lost in the life cycles of urban degradation. All of the homes and lots depicted are located in the cities of Detroit and Highland Park, Michigan, cities with the highest home vacancy rates in the state of Michigan. The Payne’s gray monochromatic palette and meticulous rendering purposely evoke tintype photography traditions and a state of melancholy reflective of the physical and psychological loss experienced in the region’s sprawling neighborhoods. Within the series, “homesickness” is multifaceted, relating both to the nostalgic longing produced by our physical detachment from home and homeland and the massive scale of abandonment, blight, abandonment and systemic disinvestment experienced in cities, rural and urban, across America’s industrial Midwest and beyond.

Limited edition, signed giclee prints from Homesickness Series are printed at a one-to-one scale to the original works and are available in editions of 10 and are priced between $100-$250 (including shipping), dependent on the size of the work. For print availability and purchase inquiries, contact the artist through the form on this website or at sagewl@gmail.com