Quinn Sweeney
oil
Quinn Sweeney resides in Wilmington, NC. Her home is located in a coastal marsh looking out toward Masonboro Inlet where fishermen, shrimpers and boaters of all descriptions fill the waterway. With barrier island conservations surrounding the inlet, it is a fisherman’s paradise. It is evident in her work that she grew up around boats. Folks recognize something different in Sweeney’s work but cannot always identify it. Schooled in architecture initially at Clemson, she received a Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Her architect’s eye comes through in her work as perspectives build with layers of color, texture and form. To date her work has been mostly representational although her recent abstract work conveys a love of low altitude flying especially along the coast. “I have been a little afraid to let my head, heart and hands go free with my mind. I sometimes scare the people I paint with who often ask, ‘where did that come from?’ … ‘Oh out of my head!’ Art has been a large part of her creative life whether two-dimensional or three-dimensional pieces in clay pottery, metal sculpture and glass blowing. She has attended Penland School of Craft in the Blue Ridge Mountains numerous times. Being able to cross between art disciplines is evident in her work and her ‘no fear’ attitude of experimenting with different media and techniques. John Poon was an early and repeated teacher and mentor who taught her to see color. Sweeney also kindles her creative juices by world travel to all seven continents often by remote means of travel. “I feel blessed that I have been exposed to many different cultures, each has its own story and way of recording it,” notes Sweeney