Over the years I have used landscape painting as a metaphor for my own search for a sense of balance. Some of the themes I explore in my work have to do with man’s relationship with nature, the effects that man has on the environment, and expressing the character and essence of “place”. My interests range geographically from the farmlands of Pennsylvania to the coastal shores of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maine as well as to my ancestral homeland in Ireland.
The work is simple and direct which belies the hours spent looking, thinking and selecting a location. The foundation of most of my work is small “Plein air” paintings that will often find their way onto larger canvases.
I am under no illusion that by painting the environment I can save the planet.
However I do know it can open a dialog that can reinforce the idea that the natural world is worth caring for and defending.
Joseph Sweeney graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), Class of 1976.
and received a Masters Degree from Penn State University, Class of 1980 Art & Architecture. A Landscape painter living in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, he has taught or is currently teaching classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The University of the Arts, Wayne Art Center, Woodmere Art Museum, Cabrini College and Chester Springs Studio.
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