Joseph Kennedy
Irish Painter, Draughtsman, Illustrator, Bog Oak Sculptor, Writer and Historian.

Portrait of Bono (U2).

Joseph Kennedy (b.1948)

The versatile Irish artist and writer Joseph Kennedy excels in a wide variety of visual art, including painting, sketching, printmaking, illustration, the history of art and the written word. In addition, his exquisite bog oak sculptures have been presented to a number of major Irish celebrities including President MacAleese, Bertie Ahern and others. Born in County Tipperary, Kennedy now lives and works in County Laois, Leinster. Although largely self-taught as an artist, he is a successful Open University student and has studied both the theory and practice of art at third level.

For other modern painters based in Ireland, see: Contemporary Irish Artists.

BEST IRISH ARTISTS
For a list of the leading Irish
painters, including exponents of
abstract landscape painting, see:
Best Irish Artists.

POSTMODERNISM
For late 20th century artworks,
see: Contemporary Art.
For practitioners, see:
Contemporary Artists: Top 20.

An accomplished draughtsman and sketcher, he excels in both figurative as well as architectural and landscape compositions executed in pen and ink.

As a painter, he works in all media, including oils, watercolours, pastels, chalks and charcoal. His main influences are the great Old Masters from the Italian Renaissance, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo and Titian, as well as the great German draughtsman and printmaker Albrecht Durer, and the Dutch Realist Jan Vermeer.

In addition to portrait and figurative paintings - for example, of Bono, Mary Black, Sinead O'Connor, Christy Moore and others - Kennedy also produces landscapes and semi-abstract compositions. He also produces a range of modern computer-enhanced prints and posters.

Kennedy's work is well represented in online galleries around Ireland, such as the Street Gallery and others. Much of his work can be viewed and purchased on his website, where you can also place individual commissions.

Monastic History

Unlike most artists, Kennedy is also a dedicated historian, who has spent many years chronicling and sketching the monastic art of Ireland, at many sacred sites across the Midlands. Remember that Ireland's greatest contribution to Western culture was keeping the flame of knowledge alive in its network of monasteries and scriptoriums, during the Dark Ages between the fall of Rome and the Gothic revival. Kennedy specialises in paintings and sketches of these holy places, and welcomes commissions.

Bog Oak

His bog oak sculptures are equally popular, especially for gifts, prizes and presentations.

Over the past 15 years he has produced a large number of both figurative and abstract works which have delighted recipients across the country, not least because of their incredible antiquity - some pieces can be anything up to 7,000 years old!

They can be made big enough for a corporate reception area, or small enough for a mantlepiece. You can commission an original sculpture on his website.

Our Opinion

A talented artist capable of producing an unusually wide range of artworks - from sketches, watercolours, oil paintings, posters, prints and illustrations, to bog oak sculpture - Kennedy looks like an ideal contact for both corporate or personal buyers in search of an original work of art.

To contact Joseph Kennedy, or to see more examples of his paintings, sketches and books, visit his website: www.kennedysart.com

Review written by Neil Collins (Editor) (June 2008).

• For more about contemporary artists in Ireland, see: Art Encyclopedia.
• For details of famous painters and sculptors from Ireland, see Irish Artists.