“The thing about Plein Air painting is, that while you are painting, you are forced to live in the present, observe the present, paint the present, yet it is holding time, freezing time, freezing the image in time so that it can be observed, it can be appreciated, it can be studied, it can be held in your hands for a few minutes longer before the observed image fades away ...in time.”
—Joseph Sweeney, artist statement 2021