“Non Artist Jobs I’ve had since the age of 15 that serve to remind me what a climb it’s been” - C. Twomey
- Vote counter, Chicago, IL (Vote early, vote often)
- Usherette, Horse Show, Santa Barbara, CA
- McDonalds, counter person, Melrose Park, IL (all workers were accused of embezzling, but the boss was discovered to be the thief)
- White Hen Pantry, River Forest, IL
- O’Conner’s Cleaners, counter person, Maywood Park, IL
- Mars Candy Co., Line person: pushed in air bubbles on 3-Musketeers for 8 hours a shift, Chicago, IL
- Handicapped Health Worker, Maywood, IL
- FMC Executive Assistant, Schaumburg, IL
- Paralegal, Lake Forest, IL
- Pat Boone’s Ocean Shores (selling land developments via telephone, Oak Park, Il)
- Teaching Assistant, Arlington Heights, IL
- Lloyd J. Harris Pie Truck Driver, Chicago, IL (1st woman ever hired; my route was through the west side ghettos)
- High school art teacher, Serena, Il (yes, deep in the corn fields)
- Elementary school art teacher, Northfield, Il (the 7th graders did me in)
- Wiebolts. River Forest, IL
- Caregiver, Oak Park, IL
- to be continued.....”
If there are two things Catherine Twomey wants to evoke in her art, it’s a deep, emotional response to the natural world and a compulsion to try to protect a world increasingly in need of protection. Early on, Twomey experienced joy interacting with and examining nature. Her curiosity and innate ability to communicate visually led her to become a practicing medical illustrator, garnering many industry awards over the years as she illustrated for medicine, health and education. Gradually, however, Twomey responded to an intrinsic calling to create her own, personal art in her own style. Encouraged by early successes such as winning national competitions, (ArtInPlace, Higbee 6X6” Squared, Bank of the Arts) and being awarded one-person shows and exhibitions, Twomey moved into the realm of fine art. She continues to expand her successes via competitions, acquisitions into collections, press coverage and international recognition.
Twomey is best known for her unique ability to experience, and then interpret, the extraordinary influence of the natural world. Twomey’s paintings reflect a deep sensitivity heightened by an urgent sense that that world is under siege. Twomey revels in using oil and acrylics in a liquid state, intermixing hues in a highly planned orchestration of paint layers. The finished works celebrate the unmatched detail and beauty of places Twomey has initially painted en plein air. Her intimate, on-site absorption of a place and time is reimagined into complex abstractions designed to focus on the overwhelming need to protect the sacred places of nature. Twomey’s latest body of work, Universe Series, is a visual declaration of intent to prompt people to positively respond and engage in their natural world, politically, physically and emotionally.
Catherine’s work can by found in corporate collections, including those of the Sanofi Winthrop, General Electric, Abbott Labs, Pfizer, Wine & Country, NBC, Mission Hospital and many others. Recent museum shows include the i.d.e.a. Museum in Arizona and the Lloyd Museum in Cincinatti, Ohio. Her works are found in private collections internationally.
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Inspiration, and great humor, has come from family.
My brother, Steve Twomey, is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. His recent acclaimed book, Countdown to Pearl Harbor: Twelve Days to the Attack can be found HERE
He’s working on another book, but we’ll see.
My brother’s wife, Kathleen Carroll, was Executive Editor of the Associated Press for 15 years. As Executive Editor, Kathleen led thousands of journalists throughout the world and was part of a team who won a Pulitzer Prize for an article exposing slave workers in the seafood industry. She was also Chairperson of the Pulitzer Committee. After retirement, she now serves as Chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists, working to protect journalists in dire situations around the world. Additional information can be found here: https://cpj.org/about/board-of-directors/
Catherine lives in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. She is an avid horseback rider, biker and hiker – anything to keep her close to nature.
Interested in prints? Click on the slideshow below.