Small Town News

Peninsula to debut new Sweeney exhibit

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Gallery to host reception May 28

Along the Coast is a new collection of plein air paintings by Ardmore, Pa. artist Joe Sweeney. This will be his first exhibit at the Peninsula Gallery in Lewes and the first in his career to consist entirely of oils. Thirty paintings in all will be on display from Saturday, May 28, through Tuesday, June 28, featuring scenes from Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and Ireland.

Sweeney's family has lived along the coast, or at least near water, since the 1300s, latterly in Philadelphia, a port city. At age

19 he was a navigator on a destroyer escort in the North Atlantic. As a result of his Navy experiences, he decided to stay ashore and become a landscape painter, but one never far from the shore.

After studying at the University of the Arts and Pennsylvania State University, he became a huge fan of pastel, although he continued to paint in oil and wa-tercolor. Over the years his pastels reaped many awards, but as he continued to mature artistically, he felt the need to become more considered in his approach to his subjects. For him this has meant using oil, which has a slower pace of application than pastel, which gives him more time to really think about what he is seeing. His loosely painted but accurate images are simple, direct and colorful.

"I paint coastlines in order to deal with the boundary between land and water, the artist and the environment," Sweeney says. "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."

A reception will be held in the gallery from 5 to 7 p.m., Saturday, May 28, and the whole show may be previewed online at www.peninsula-gallery.com. The

gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. It is located at 520 E. Savannah Road, just across the canal bridge going toward the bay. For information, call 302-645-0551.

"I PAINT COASTLINES IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN LAND AND WATER, THE ARTIST AND THE ENVIRONMENT."





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