“The Darkening” 12 X 12” Mixed media, Catherine Twomey
gallery representation
Public Service Announcement: "Mercury: Dangerously Fishy"
"The following is a personal Public Service Announcement - my first, and I hope the last:
Mercury: Dangerously Fishy by Catherine Twomey, FAMI, Emeritus
Thinking about ordering that lovely swordfish or sea bass, steaming and covered in capers? Or, how about that sushi? About to pop open a can of “sustainable, thoughtfully harvested” Albacore tuna to eat on a salad or for a delicious tuna fish sandwich? Think again; hard.
I’ve just been diagnosed with mercury toxicity. For the last two months, I’ve worked with an integrative, functional medicine doctor while she supervised and interpreted over 10 tests, ranging from blood to hair and lots in between.
What kind of harm is done by an excess of mercury? Without getting overly scientific, the overall scope is that it’s prevented my body from functioning properly for a long time. Mercury toxicity can be a root cause of a host of maladies that are otherwise attributed to things like aging or chronic disease.
I have stepped out of traditional medicine because it failed me once again. My general practitioner refused to do annual blood tests for me since 2020 - even though I asked him to repeatedly, telling me: “You’re doing just fine, you don’t need them.” Funny, he had no problem doing them for my husband. I found a traditionally trained physician whose specialty, functional integrative medicine, isn’t recognized by Medicare, yet who is one of the most intelligent, thorough and life-changing people I’ve met.
The mercury toxicity diagnosis has been pretty exhausting and frightening. Sure, I’d heard about fish and mercury - but it really can’t be that bad, otherwise I would have heard more about it, right? Wrong. I can no longer eat any fish or shellfish except a limited amount of salmon. As a small species fish with lower mercury, salmon is loaded with antioxidants; a good thing. At this point in the earth’s environmental destruction, every species of fish or shellfish has mercury in it. It’s just a question of which species does the most harm.
What’s being dumped into the oceans is much worse than it was just a couple of decades ago. I had been experiencing subtle, weird symptoms of various things and at least now have an explanation for them. My body is slowly healing and balancing, and I’m going to have what’s called chelation therapy to “liquify” what mercury is in my body with hopes of a full recovery. It’s going to take thousands of dollars and up to seven months.
Our medical system is broken; this story is just one tiny example. When I tell doctors about my mercury toxicity, their typical first response is: “that’s rare.” I suspect the opposite is true. How can you know if something is rare if it’s not even tested for routinely? Unfortunately, most physicians have had little nutritional education and we’re paying a steep price for that deficiency.
The amount of mercury and other industrial waste being freely released into the oceans has increased by about 30% just in the last 20 years - ah, those pesky environmental regulations - and is increasing exponentially. Yet there are no standard tests done to measure changing nutritional needs or toxic exposure. The tests are affordable, do-able remotely and could significantly alter the grossly mismanaged, unregulated supplement industry profoundly - and please, don’t even get me started on the pharmaceutical industry. Illnesses could be re-diagnosed, correctly; lives saved, improved and millions of dollars redirected towards better health outcomes rather than chronic diseases.
I loved to eat fish. I’d read, been told and thought I was doing the “right” thing and following a great diet full of everything you’re supposed to eat with very little of the bad stuff. Not anymore. At least for the foreseeable future, I’m all plant based. I’m actually learning to cook because at least I know what’s going into and can control each meal. I want to keep outdoor mountain painting, thinking clearly, horseback riding and being disease free as long as possible.
Lately I’ve mused on how ironic it is that, as an emeritus medical illustrator and fine art painter, I’ve focused on the complexity and beauty of nature and fragility of the earth’s environment. My brain calling out for help? Maybe. Or maybe the earth’s problems are now hitting home and I can no longer be in denial. It’s not fun being the canary in a coal mine."
“Accelerating” by Catherine Twomey; 30” X 30” acrylics, pigments
Article: "The Universe" Interview by the Center for Humans and Nature
The Center for Humans and Nature (https://humansandnature.org/) interviewed me for this feature: https://humansandnature.org/the-universe/...
I am very grateful for their work and interest.
The Universe | Center for Humans and Nature
"Lemon Levitation" by Catherine Twomey
Painted plein air in the garden, Palm Springs, CA. I've never spent this much time in the desert and it's really starting to grow on me. Daily I gaze at a lovely, full lemon tree. The looming mountains still have snow at the top, yet down below it's 70 degrees and sunny. Coyotes roam the neighborhood and follow my dog and me on walks. I've been so influenced by this lemon tree, I'm now dreaming about the lemons and this inspired this piece. And p
eace.
"Old Grey Jug" Sold! by Catherine Twomey
SOLD thank you to the collector of "Old Grey Jug"! #stilllifepainting #stilllifeoil #blendgallerync #catherinetwomey1 #oilonpanel #moonshinejug
"Birds Eye View Summer Spruce" by Catherine Twomey
"Birds Eye View Summer Spruce", 16 X 20" oil on canvas over aluminum. There are seven spruces off of my deck, and I've painted this one 100 times in my mind. Finally got it down on canvas! Plein air to studio; available this week at Blend Gallery in Asheville.
"Island Edge" by Catherine Twomey Sold!
THANK YOU to Blend Gallery at 67 Biltmore Ave (Asheville) for the sale of "Island Edge." This original oil was painted plein air at Bass Lake in Blowing Rock, NC - obviously a beautiful, serene place filled with happy walkers as storms came and went.
"Center For Humans and Nature" Awarded Artworks by C. Twomey
Thank you to the Center for Humans and Nature (https://humansandnature.org/) for the unexpected award for six of my works to be published in 2023! What a terrific way to start the New Year! Citation: A version of ‘Accelerating’ first appeared in a
publication of the Center for Humans and Nature Press and is revised and
reprinted here with permission of the Center for Humans and Nature Press.
"The Island" by Catherine Twomey
"The Island" is a plein air oil, 16" X 16" in Blowing Rock, NC. It was a blustery, sometimes rainy day, but there is nothing like capturing the light on site. Thank you to the collector from Hewitt, NJ for their purchase!
"Sea Leveling" by Catherine Twomey Through ERA Contemporary Gallery
Thank you to ERA Contemporary Gallery in Philadelphia, PA for featuring my painting: "Sea Leveling" - now on offer. Check it out: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClWfQJcMZKh/
Maple Ridge Craggy Gardens Named To Collection!
The international gallery, Singulart, has named my work “Maple Ridge Craggy Gardens” to their Fall Harvest Collection! This piece is in oil on an archival panel, and is professionally framed and ready to hang. For additional information, please visit:
“Monumental Oak” 22” X 28” oil on canvas.
Sold by Martin House Gallery, Blowing Rock": "Monumental Oak"
A big thank you to Mike Gaydon at Martin House Gallery in Blowing Rock for selling this 22” x 28” oil entitled “Monumental Oak”. And thanks, of course, to the collectors. Much appreciated! #artsold #martinhouse #martinhousegallery #oaktreepainting #landscapepaintingsold #catherinetwomey1 #artcollectors #artcollectorsoninstagram
The Last Hydrangea
Finishing up this oil of one of the last hydrangeas in the garden. It’s going to be 90 today, and everything is looking a bit tired and too hot (me too!). The garden colors are shifting to more subtlety, which is quite lovely and peaceful. May you stay cool, healthy and happy.
"Serenity Stream" by Catherine Twomey On Offer
It was a hike through the Botanical Gardens in Asheville to get down to this stream. It was so worth the effort, however - look at those reflections! and those shadows! Exquisite. I wouldn't have thought this would happen, but once other hikers saw us, they too clamoured down the banks to talk and watch. Sometimes that's annoying, but this day was so perfect; so peaceful - that I welcomed their happy presence and delighted in their kind support. Watercolor on archival board.Just added "Serenity Stream" to my Singulart gallery here: https://www.singulart.com/en/artworks/catherine-twomey-serenity-stream-1670035
"Glad For Yellow" Gladiolus On Offer
The garden is abundant this summer and the gladiolus are no exception. The fluidity of the stem holds the foundation for the bright yellow blossoms. Light seeped over the flowers from behind; I was amazed by the difficulty of rendering the subtle shades of yellow against the magenta background. They only lasted about two days, but it was two days of painting frenzy to get this down. This original oil is 16" X 20" on a linen panel and is unframed.
“The Island”, 12” X 12” oil on panel.
"The Island" New Works by Catherine Twomey
If a painting could capture a day, this one did. It was blustery (hang on to the easel kind of blustery), and there were thunderstorms all around as I painted. The sun flashed in and out, illuminating the bright greens of the island’s trees as well as the backdrop. It’s hard to describe the joy of such a moment, other than to say it makes you feel as alive as you’ve ever been. Two hours to get it all down, get it right, and not get hit by lightning.
“Sequenced”, 24” X 36” pigments, iridescents, metallics on aluminum panel, framed.
"Sequenced" Original Painting by Catherine Twomey On Offer
The luminous sky and mountains at over 6,000 feet can overwhelm. Couple that with the late spring blooms of the rhododendrons, and there is a sense of floating high above the clouds as the sun descends. I'm inspired by the mountains and sky, of course - but the flow of the pigments themselves is so freeing; so abstract. It's like it helps makes sense of all of the complex layers and diffuse light spreading through the clouds. Each layer is constructed
separately using pigments, tools, an airbrush and gravity. Although the end result appears realistic, on closer inspection it's made up of pours, ridges and glowing pigment. This 24" X 36" original painting will infuse your room settings with good taste and luminescence. It is framed in a lovely copper and black floating frame.
"Between Storms" Plein Air by Catherine Twomey
“Between Storms” is an 8” X 16” oil on archival panel.
The weather is so incredibly variable in the mountains, and this day was no exception. I made my way around a lake, Bass Lake, in Blowing Rock, NC - Blue Ridge mountains. Surrounded by threatening cumulous clouds, I quickly set up and immediately planned out the composition. Suddenly, sunlight flooded the island in the lake's middle, and I knew I had my painting. The flashes of light green and blue highlighted the dark pines against the mountainside. The light fell on a downed log, prompting a highlight that finished the piece. As dozens of people made their way past and around the lake path, it felt like we were all in it together - a race against the lightning in an electric moment.
Invitational Blowing Rock Women's Show - June 9, 2022!
“Cirrused”, 24 X 36”, pigments, metallics, iridescents on archival panel.
June 9th, 2022! Blowing Rock Women's Show at the American Legion Building in Blowing Rock! Come and meet me, Deborah Squier and Lori McNee! Blowing Rock is SPECTACULAR & so is the art; supporting the Women's Fund of the Blue Ridge. Thanks!
"Waterlily Hearts" by Catherine Twomey
"Waterlily Hearts" is a waterlily watercolor, about 10" X 15" on Crescent board. Painted at the Biltmore Estate, I was as fascinated with the delicacy of the design as I was the colors.
