From his home in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Paine Proffitt opens up his interior world of goth girls and costumed cats enveloped in diaphanous veils of muted color — a visual callback to a past for which he longs and where his nostalgia masquerades as memory, resulting in beautifully painted vignettes of a lost time.
“I live in a post-industrial town that had its industry and identity taken away decades ago,” says the PureHoney artist of the month. “The local towns have reminders of their past crumbling all around them, old derelict factories and warehouses, smokestacks that haven’t fired in decades, work canals that haven’t seen industry in half a century.
“The past is there, rotting away in the background, while the place tries to move on and find its way again. There is a feeling of ghosts, memories, and lives long gone. You can also see it in old photos … the same places but in a very different time. That gives the place a history and an atmosphere, which of course finds its way into the artwork.”
In this haunted setting Proffitt paints “gothic pieces that have a dark, moody, and mysterious or ominous atmosphere,” he says. “Also, vintage 1920s or 30s pieces with a warmer, nostalgic feel. There seems to be common threads that run through most of my work, which comes from my … feelings of memory, nostalgia, loneliness, isolation, and melancholy.”
“I’ve always been drawn to music, goth imagery, and dark or whimsical themes, so it was only natural that they would creep into the artwork,” he says as he describes his process. “The subject matter usually dictates the direction, mood, atmosphere, and feel of a piece. I’ll come to a painting with a rough subject, a statement, or a specific image in mind.”
In terms of influences, Proffitt says, “Futurism, Art Deco, and the artwork of Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Tamara de Lempicka, and Frida Kahlo, have had a big impact on my work.”
“I like the style of the 1920s and 30s … there’s something very elegant, classy and aesthetically warm about it. But I think there’s also a great sense of memory and nostalgia that comes from the artwork and style of those times,” he says.
On the reception his whimsical women have garnered, Proffitt says, “I tend to paint subject matter from about five or six different pools … mainly gothic, music, 1920s-30s vintage, working life, cats, and the occasional sports piece.
“If you drew a Venn Diagram with all those, none of the circles would touch,” he says with a laugh. “The goths don’t care about soccer, the soccer fans don’t care about cats, the cat fans might not care about flappers, and so on. I’m here spinning these plates for myself and hoping not to lose too many people along the way.
“It was hard to get a following at first,” Proffitt says, “because if someone came to my Instagram because of a goth piece, they might see a piece about the pottery industry in the 1920s or a soccer piece and think, ‘I’m outta here.’ But over time, a few people stuck around and have supported me.”
As for musical influences, “I listen to a wide range of music which spans several genres and eras,” he says. “I like everything from The Cure to Pink Floyd to Arcade Fire to The Smiths to The Cranberries to Radiohead,” he said. “I grew up on early ’80s New Wave, ’90s indie and Britpop, and also love the blues, classic rock, and ’50s doo wop.”
“Last year, I completed a series I called the Bunny Record Collection, looking at about 60 albums that have featured in my life somehow,” he says. “I also want to do more paintings inspired directly from songs … lyrics, the feelings behind the song, my interpretations and reactions to songs, and having the songs be more of a direct inspiration to the paintings. I think music’s going to be my main focus and inspiration in my work now.”
In sum, Proffitt says, “It takes courage to open yourself up and show the world something you created or vulnerably show a part of yourself … that’s beautiful, and it deserves support and respect.”
Find the artist at paineproffitt.com. ~ Kelli Bodle
