Fate often surprises us. Sometimes in ways that change everything. Sometimes in moments that simply stay with us. Fate recently provided me with a special moment because of Ken. I discovered that fate led Ken down a path that changed everything.
Five years ago, Teresa and I were plunking around Sedona, casually checking out art galleries. Unexpectedly, I fell in love. It was a magnificent bronze sculpture of two buffaloes chasing a pack of wolves. The title?… Expect the Unexpected. Coincidentally, that was my vision for our new firm’s impact on real estate. Fate? Yes, I believe so. But paying thousands of dollars for a sculpture didn’t make sense when starting a new firm.
Fast forward to this past Christmas. Unexpectedly, Teresa surprised me with that very sculpture, arranging for Ken Rowe, the internationally renowned artist who crafted it, to personally deliver it to our Sedona home. When Ken showed up that crisp January morning, bronze sculpture in hand, I was struck not just by the artwork, but by the man. Hearing his story made me realize that this work of art had come from a life defined by grit, grace, and the willingness to walk into the unknown. Ken stayed most of the morning and mesmerized us with his personal life’s journey.
Penniless and starving in Layton.
Here’s how Ken described his journey to us that morning…
“My life has been unexpected. I went from penniless and starving in Layton, to drywalling for survival. I explored taxidermy through fascination, which led to sculpting as my life’s calling.
I was the kid in school always staring out the window, daydreaming about the natural world beyond the classroom walls. Born in Phoenix in 1954, I grew up with a mother who was an amateur artist and a father who was an engineer. Their shared love for animals was perhaps the only common ground between us.
My childhood swung between painting lessons with my mom and learning to rebuild everything mechanical—lawnmowers, tractors, even houses—with my dad. But beneath it all simmered an unresolved conflict between father and son, eventually becoming unbearable. So one summer, at seventeen, my friend and I acted on a longstanding threat and ran away from home.
Our journey found us penniless and starving, stranded 600 miles away in Layton, Utah. Yet, it was there I witnessed incredible kindness from strangers who taught me that when one door closes, another surely opens. These compassionate souls saw potential in me I didn’t see in myself. Their generosity did more than feed my hunger, it unexpectedly restored my faith in humanity.
With winter approaching, I returned to Phoenix and unexpectedly stumbled into drywall finishing during the housing boom of the seventies. This was a job that paid well and kept me going for nine years. Then one day, a coworker took me to pick up a mounted fish at a taxidermy studio.
This was a revelation. Not the trophies on the walls, but the manikins used for mounting captivated me. Strangely inspired, I convinced the studio owner to let me apprentice without pay, juggling two jobs until Monica, my future wife and greatest supporter, encouraged me to dive deep into entrepreneurship and open our own taxidermy studio. I believed this would be our forever future.
My dedication to taxidermy provided me with a 14-year study of anatomy and physiology, but after all those years an unexpectedly harsh truth hit Monica and me—taxidermy wasn’t financially viable.
So Monica and I both enrolled in a sculpture class at Phoenix College. The class emphasized using photos for reference, but this felt hollow to me. I needed direct, personal interaction with animals to capture their true essence. Thus began my unexpected journey of devoting most every evening to sculpting bronze animals from pikas to grizzlies, from Arizona to Alaska, using live animals as my reference. This direct connection has been key to my success.
That was in the pre-internet days, so I learned by checking out books from libraries and sculpting alongside PBS’s “Sculpting with Ken Payne.” Every Saturday, I’d mold my clay sculptures at the kitchen table, inspired by Payne’s beautiful storytelling.
Fatefully, in 1993, armed with a modest portfolio, I nervously introduced my work to Troy Murray of Troy’s Western Heritage Gallery in Scottsdale. To my unexpected but joyful astonishment, Troy began selling my sculptures. One memorable afternoon, I spotted Ken Payne himself admiring my work at the gallery. Awestruck and shy, I introduced myself. Shortly after, Ken Payne offered me an opportunity I couldn’t refuse: become a featured artist at his renowned Mountain Trails Gallery in Sedona, guaranteeing monthly sales.
Almost overnight, my life transformed. I became a full-time bronze sculptor, working publicly alongside my hero, Ken Payne. Under his mentorship, I flourished, eventually opening my own gallery, Rowe Fine Art Gallery, alongside Monica in 2010. Ken Payne has since passed, but his impact endures, thriving in the gallery that first embraced me.
Life truly is poetic. If my childhood had been common, rather than unexpected and challenging, perhaps I would not have been inspired to express myself through art. If strangers hadn’t unexpectedly restored my faith in humanity, maybe I wouldn’t have recognized the opportunities life presents. And without my taxidermy background, I might never have developed the knowledge necessary to accurately sculpt the magnificence of animals. When you visit Sedona, stop by my gallery and say “Hi.” No need to buy. Like Greg and Teresa, you may discover the unexpected.”
– Ken Payne
