Jacob Proffitt
Jacob Proffitt didn’t come to art until high school and then it wasn’t because he was interested in art — he wanted to learn how to sketch plans for a planned career as an architect.
“It didn’t take me long to become absolutely obsessed with everything about art. Because of that, I started volunteering at the Johnson County Center for the Arts as soon as I turned 16, and that’s where I have learned the most. The executive director, Cristy Dunn, has been mentoring me for years. So many of the other amazing artists have been inspiring and challenging me to grow.
“There isn’t anything about art that I’m not interested in, but I am most interested in the traditional arts, which inspire my style. I am fascinated by artists like Vermeer, Caravaggio and Sargent.I find that my style is a more minimalistic version of traditional paintings with a restricted color palette and simple compositions without compromising detail. They are often very melancholy and somber because of the color palette I try to create, which is mainly cool and neutral. There are some contemporary artists that I look up too. Artists like Ben Bauer, Edward Rice and Andrii Kateryniuk each inspire me in different ways. Of course, Cristy Dunn has been the teacher that has influenced my work the most. She has taught me everything from traditional oil technique to how to package a painting for shipping,” Jacob says.
He works mostly in oil but occasionally uses watercolors. Oil paints allow him to spend time with details, and he likes the deep, richly colored pigments. He uses watercolor when he wants to move faster and more freely and remind himself not to obsess over every detail.
He’s been a part of many projects over the years.His first solo exhibition was at the Johnson County Center for the Arts in December 2024. The show was titled “Music in Color,” and each painting was inspired by one of his favorite pieces of classical music. One of the paintings from that show earned second place in the fifthannual Oil Painters of America national student art competition (ages 19 – 23 division).
Most recently, his painting, “Southern Reverie No. 1,” was accepted as a finalist in the Artist Professional Legue 97thAnnual Grand National Exhibition. The painting will be featured in the Salmagundi Club in Manhattan Nov. 18 – Dec. 2.
“It’s hard to explain, but art is my way of processing how I see the world. I suppose that it’s the only way to explain to myself and others what I really think about life. I think it’s also a way to express how I want life to look like. My work is often very personal. Sometimes I choose to explain the meaning to others, sometimes I keep them private simply to have something for myself.
“As far as art, I am just going where the wind blows me. I am trying to be open to new and exciting opportunities.I don’t know if I will ever be able to make a career out of my art, but I want to go wherever it will take me. I do know that I will always be making art because I do it for me,” Jacob says.
He is the son of Ethen and Tonya Proffitt and is a senior at King University, Bristol, Tennessee. He is from Butler, Tennessee.
