Ty Sheehan

My work explores the themes of landscapes, family, peace, climate change, and solitude. I’ve done research on the history of landscape paintings and how they’ve evolved

over time. My style has been greatly influenced by painters such as Neil Jenney and Claude Monet. Through my work, I explore the limits of a landscape and the ways in which I could infuse my own perspective and interpretations. Climate Change is a particularly important issue to me so in multiple pieces I experimented with the depiction of wildfires and the decay of beauty in nature. My goal was to portray the beauty of nature while also highlighting the destruction of the world that is slowly developing each day. I have experimented with different mediums in my work such as ceramics and mixed media, however the vast majority of my work is done with acrylic paints. I explore the idea of the destruction of nature by surrounding a simple landscape with a strong charcoal base to create an intimidating feeling of closing in on the landscape. Neil Jenney has been a major influence on my work because of his unique style and conviction in his work. Jenney is able to completely accomplish his goal of combining realism with abstract art because of the way in which the viewer can understand his point of view, while still questioning the exact setting in which it’s painted. That style has greatly influenced my work because my paintings aren’t an exact replica of what they are based on. I add my own interpretations to the work through varying brushstrokes, composition, and shading. As I consider the installation of my exhibition I want the viewer to understand my love for landscape. I chose to only show four pieces because they all relate to each other in different ways. As I move forward as an artist I want to continue exploring the limits of landscape paintings. I want to paint from observation in real life rather than a photo, and I would also be interested in incorporating landscapes with sculpture.