Martin Payton is a New Orleans native and studied under John Scott while earning his bachelor's degree at Xavier University. Payton then pursued a master's degree at the Otis Institute of Art and Design in Los Angeles.

Payton was a professor of art at Southern University from 1990 until retirement in 2010. His work is held in the permanent collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), the Amistad Research Center, the William King Regional Arts Center, and the Rosekrans Runnymede Sculpture Garden.