I hope my work celebrates the beauty and art of life and love, and the emotional connections we feel.  In my paintings, I've wanted to touch on our feeling for who we are, where we come from, and what we care about.  Some of my work is about the sense of identity, home, and where we come from.  As where we are helps shape us, I wanted to focus on history, culture, and our identity through where we live.

I’ve always been passionate about art, as well as sport, and some of my work looks to bring the two together.  I’ve also wanted to look at sport and our feelings for it in a unique way and take a different view of the game ... as well as to capture the passion, emotion, and personal (even “religious”) connection so many of us have with sport or our team.  I also want to bring these elements into my non-sports work and try to capture a whimsical and dreamlike element in all my paintings.

I was born in the United States and spent most of my childhood moving around the world, due to my parents’ work.  Our family settled in Philadelphia, where I grew up and became interested in painting and pursuing a career in the arts.  I went to university at the Rhode Island School of Design, studying illustration, and also spent a year studying at the University of Brighton in England.  After graduation I worked as an illustrator, and also began to show my work in several group gallery shows in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and Providence.  I’ve also been fortunate to have my work recognized and honoured by winning several design and education awards in the US. 

In 2001, I married and moved permanently to England.  Since moving to England, I’ve focused more on my fine art work, and exhibiting in the UK.  Also on arriving in England, I instantly fell in love with rugby and football and follow them passionately, although it would be some time before sport worked its way into my artwork.  I began slowly showing my paintings in a few galleries around the UK, and then decided to re-evaluate and completely change my work ... I used this time to realize what I wanted to do with my paintings, and to change the style and the direction of my art.  In 2006 I began showing in galleries again, and felt that this was the start of the style and work that I always wanted to follow.  Since 2006, I’ve been fortunate enough to show my work in several galleries and museums in England and Scotland, as well as having my work featured in several UK sports and arts magazines.  I’ve also been priveledged to have my work in the permanent collections of several private collectors, corporations, sports organizations, teams, restaurants, hotels, and museums, including the permanent collection of the Museum of Rugby in Twickenham. 

Prices of original artwork range from around £200 - £1000 ... please ask about availability and prices for individual paintings.

If you'd like to get in touch, or if you have any questions or comments, please send me an e-mail at paineart@btinternet.com


ARTIST CV

Education

Rhode Island School of Design   Providence, USA
University of Brighton   Brighton, England

Group and solo exhibitions

2008 - Cambridge Contemporary Art   January & Summer group exhibition   Cambridge, England
2008 - Castle Gallery   Summer group exhibition   Inverness, Scotland
2008 - Cupola Gallery   Mixed group exhibition   Sheffield, England
2008 - Burslem School Of Art   “Local Edition” exhibition   Burslem, Stoke-On-Trent, England
2008 - The Art Bay   Mixed group exhibition   Fenton, Stoke-On-Trent, England
2008 - ArtWaves   Solo exhibition   Burslem, Stoke-On-Trent, England
2008 - Burslem Arts   Mixed work   Burslem, Stoke-On-Trent, England
2008 - Martin’s Gallery    Mixed exhibition   Cheltenham, England

2007 - Museum of Rugby   “Rugby In The Frame” solo show   Twickenham, England
2007 - Borough Museum & Art Gallery  2-person show  Newcastle-Under-Lyme, England
2007 - Cambridge Contemporary Art   Spring & Winter group exhibition   Cambridge, England
2007 - Castle Gallery Inverness   Mixed Spring exhibition   Inverness, Scotland
2007 - Rostra and Rooksmoor Gallery   Mixed Summer & Winter exhibition   Bath, England
2007 - Blue? Gallery     Mixed group exhibition   Newcastle-Under-Lyme, England
2007 - AAF Autumn Art Fair   London, England
2007 - Edinburgh Art Fair   Edinburgh, Scotland
2007 - Leith Gallery   Winter group exhibition   Edinburgh, Scotland

2006 - Cambridge Contemporary Art   Christmas group exhibition   Cambridge, England

2005 - The Art Room          Wolverhampton, England
2005 - Castle Gallery          York, England
2005 - Chrysalis Gallery     Manchester, England

2004 - New York SI Gallery     New York, USA

Honours and awards

National Education Press Award (3 awards)
CASE - Council for Advancement and Support of Education  Silver Award
New York Society of Illustrators
Print Magazine Regional Design Award
RISD Illustration Award
Press Club of Cleveland Award
Delaware Design Award

Permanent Collections

Museum of Rugby - Twickenham, England
St. Margaret Ward Catholic School & Arts College - Tunstall/Stoke-On-Trent, England
SAP - Philadelphia, USA
Deloitte & Touche - Philadelphia, USA
Universal Health Services - Valley Forge, USA
Mirabella’s Restaurant - Philadelphia, USA
Aramark - Philadelphia, USA
CapIndex - Philadelphia, USA
Sofitel Hotel - Philadelphia, USA
W Hotel, City Center - Chicago, USA

Publications and other mentions

feature - Rugby World Magazine 2007
feature - theArtist Magazine 2007
feature - Artists & Illustrators Magazine 2006, 2007
feature - Society of Illustrators Annual Collection
mention - FourFourTwo Football Magazine 2007
mention - Bath Magazine 2007
"World In Union" - rugby union book published by the International Rugby Board
photo gallery - making of “Rugby In The Frame” show: BBC Sport website
    news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/6561045.stm 
(or go to the BBC Sport website and keyword “Paine Proffitt” or “Rugby In The Frame”)

Interview on the Creative Stoke website: www.creativestoke.org.uk/05-interview.html


Some of the artwork on this site is available from the galleries I work with ... if you'd like to enquire about a painting (or paintings) or commission a painting, please contact me or get in touch with one of these galleries who represent my artwork:

Cambridge Contemporary Art, Cambridge
www.cambridgegallery.co.uk/artists/paintings/paine_proffitt/gallery/

Rostra & Rooksmoor Galleries, Bath
www.rostragallery.co.uk/galleryArtists/Painting/Proffitt/proffitt.html

Cupola Gallery, Sheffield
www.cupolagallery.com

The Art Bay, Fenton, Stoke-On-Trent
www.theartbay.co.uk

... also, many of my paintings can be bought online through Fresh Creations at www.freshcreations.co.uk/paine_proffitt
New work will be added regularly, so please check in to see what's available