"Gladiolus and Echinacea; The Garden" by C. Twomey, Now Available

These coneflowers (echinacea) and gladiolus popped up in my front yard, discovered the summer of 2016 after moving into my new home. Fertilization and care caused them to burst with color and height in the summer. I "planted" myself and my easel with canvas in the midst of them. As I spent hours painting, several neighbors wandered by to watch and talk, making for a lovely painting session. Bees and bugs hummed around me as I painted, but they, fortunately, were oblivious to my presence as they frittered from bud to bud. It was like being unseen in the jungle, inspired by the extraordinary beauty and peace of the day.

First Pandemic Posting: Iris Portrait by C. Twomey

Like everyone else, I’ve been in shock about what’s happened to the world because of COVID-19. So in order not to think about it, I’ve been painting things in my spring garden, including the iris.

When I moved to Asheville, North Carolina, in 2016, I had no idea what was going to come up in the spring garden. As a nature-loving gardener, however, I knew the long-neglected property needed a lot of tender loving care to be brought back to life. A small pod of tulips were in the front yard, but yielded no flowers that spring. The second year I amended the soil and was rewarded with one lonely flower. This year, however, there are a grand total of three - each with their own beauty and personality. There's a lot to be said for spending days getting to know a particular flower. It's pandemic time and I'm in isolation like everyone else, so I have the time. I adored setting up the light and angle of the buds and petals so they caught the light just so. The layers gradually built and as I worked, I was able to achieve that translucency and brilliance that tulips have. This painting is beautifully custom framed in a greenish-green patina. It is ready to hang.

Available: https://www.catherinetwomey.com/available/iris-portrait

"Occupy Mars I.0" by C. Twomey

12 X 12”, acrylic and oil, on stretched canvas.

It’s no secret i’m fascinated with the solar system, and the planets, and the thought of living beyond earth. I can’t afford to hop on with Elon Musk, but I can dream, can’t I? I worked with High Flow Acrylics for this painting and a magic potion of ingredients. I loved the way the colors held up despite the large amount of swirling and surface to cover. So, will we occupy Mars? We’ll see.

This will be offered for sale soon.

SOLD! "Manifesto: Blue Marble Earth" Thru Paris, France Gallery

A new gallery in Paris, France has sold "Manifesto: Blue Marble Earth" & wants to commission more. Thank you very much to the French collector! Please come & see more art at the Kenilworth Arts Association Studio Tour, May 25 & 26, 10 - 5pm; I'll be at 71 Finalee Ave. in Asheville!

Sold, thank you to the collector! C. Twomey Award Winning Art

“Thomas Jefferson's White Oak Tree On The Way To James Madison's For Afternoon Tea” sold to a collector, with much appreciation from the artist! This gorgeous white tulip tree is just west of Rt. 29 in Charlottesville, VA. It’s a stunning, old beauty that I well imagined Jefferson admiring on the way to Madison’s estate back in the day. The original is 12X24”, oil on gessoboard. For additional prints:

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/thomas-jeffersons-white-oak-tree-on-the-way-to-james-madisons-for-afternoon-tea-catherine-twomey.html

"Grandfather Mountain Adoration" Work Completed!

There is something so satisfying about working with someone who has commissioned your work. The gift of having their trust to complete a vision is priceless. This work began with a trip up the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Grandfather Mountain area. I hiked extensively, capturing reference photos and a good sense of what the mountain was about.  Just this morning, the commissioner commented: 

It’s beautiful and we love it! It’s going to look great in our living room.
Thank you so much. 

Grateful, thrilled and touched by the whole process.

"Grandfather Mountain Adoration" Work In Progress Coming Along

This work is moving along! It is so thoroughly enjoyable to see the vision come alive, and the paint is cooperating. Being almost August in North Carolina, however, it takes a while to dry. In this image the sun has not yet been rendered - the mountain layers will "tell" me how to show it. So grateful for this commission and support.

Oil Portrait: Wickers Gets Some Depth

Now that the color background layer is started, the painting is starting to have some atmosphere. In this image, I have begun to add a deeper, sharper layer of Burnt Sienna with a touch of Ivory Black. The large value masses begin to give depth to the portrait, but they have a cookie-cutter effect due to their hard edges. These will be softened where needed. Note how the lighter & whiter areas of the face are beginning to "pop" - becoming more contrasty and prominent.
Compare this to the first wash to see the transition from thin paint to slightly thicker.

A Decent Introduction

Well, I leapt right into this blog, which at the moment is teaching how I paint an oil painting. However, I provided no introduction, background, or any kind of reasoning as to why I can or want to write this!


That's typical of me (hyperenergetic and jumping right into it), but confusing. Everything needs context. I don't believe in wordy blog posts (please let me know if that happens), so I'll just provide a bit at a time to establish credibility and offer a philosophy about painting, art, horses, and life.

I'm a fine artist and Board Certified Medical Illustrator. Since I was a kid I knew I'd be an artist, and that's what I've aimed for since grade school. Bragging rights: I've worked very, very hard and I've won lots of national and international awards for my artwork (http://www.catherinetwomey.com/awardsexhibitions/). I'm also a published author (articles & journals) which means I have no excuse for bad writing or editing. Mea culpa.

Regarding my past life (in this body) as a medical illustrator, I'm posting a piece that recently won the opportunity to be exhibited at the medical division of TED (http://www.ted.com/pages/registration), TEDMED. It was a great honor to be selected:

As you can see, my medical work is extremely realistic and detailed - along with accurate. I'm a Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators and consider it a noble and rewarding career (http://www.ami.org/)

Of late, however, because I want to and can, I've been focusing on my lifetime love of the fine arts. The goal is to loosen up from the medical illustration style, do wonderful paintings and/or sculptures, give back  a lifetime's worth of knowledge via teaching, and finally, to sell some of my work. 

What I'd like is to continue teaching, but invite you to freely ask any questions you may have about my process or anything else art related. Your input is greatly welcomed and important.

I hope to offer critiques in the future. One step at a time - I'm still trying to figure out what tags are vs. labels...

For a detailed resume, please follow this link to my website:

http://www.catherinetwomey.com/bioresumecv/

And thanks for your attention.

CT