The name Sean McSweeney is synonymous with richly textured paintings made with evident relish for the tactile qualities of oil paint: the fat, buttery oiliness that seems, in his hands, perfectly suited to conveying the nature of the Irish landscape: dark wet bogland, the brimming Atlantic, the watery air, plus of course vivid bursts of flowering plants like bog cotton and irises.
He is as adept, however, with drawing and watercolour. But there is another medium that seems as if it was made for him: egg tempera. Thinner and much more translucent than oil, more intense and vibrant than watercolour, it is ideal for conveying the concentrated brilliance of wet vegetation, bog pools and watery ground.
McSweeney has also put it to good use in another, unexpected context, in views of alpine landscapes during stays in Switzerland. His show at the Taylor Galleries marshals work on paper made in Ireland and Switzerland, plus a few oils.
