Anne Penman Sweet

Anne Penman Sweet is a mid-career British painter, currently working out of Australia.

Sweet's theme is tankers.  Each painting is constructed on a scale to match its subject matter, using oil paint on stretched linen that the artist builds in textured layers, mimicking the rust and weathering of a ship's frame.

Industrial and hulking, the ships are suspended on an ethereal backdrop, where the ocean and clouds blend in one marbled plane. The hugeness of the ship is recalibrated against the vastness of the open sea and endless sky, as roughness is contrasted with delicacy and motion with stillness.

The sense of magnitude evoked by Sweet's work continues in each painting's title. She names each vessel after gods, goddesses, stars and galaxies, associating them with epic qualities:

'For me they are vessels or carriers of spirit and myth, in that they carry a secret story or narrative with them as well as their cargo. They are each one an entity, a living spirit in their own right' - Anne Penman Sweet

Sweet was a finalist in the Celeste Art Prize in 2006 (UK), the Salon des Refuses at the S.H Ervin Gallery in 2013  and the Paddington Art Prize in 2014. With almost two decades of exhibition history, she has had 12 solo shows and participated in 40 group shows around the world, with works held in both private and corporate collections.