Read More
Still Living Momentarily
Just posted this image up for sale in my Shop. Maybe a play on words & images, but it is a time for reflection.
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted and loved horses. There was no family equine history; no ponies for birthdays - just an intense desire to learn and love them. My mom would always tell people she had no idea where I came up with the addiction. My dad would tell me I could get a horse when we quit paying taxes (!).
Many people think that those who have horses are wealthy. In some quarters, this may be true, but most horse people I've known over the last 30 years put all of their hard-earned time, love, energy and money into their equine passion. I've been one of those people. It hasn't been easy as I started later than most and had to learn thru thick or thin.
Over the years I've been lucky enough to own three horses and lease one. They were all wonderful, each with their own strengths and personality who never stopped giving no matter what I asked.
I am now horseless, in a new albeit very horsey state. I thought I would immediately pick up where I had left off with those magnificent animals. Odd thing, though, is: the thrill seems to be gone.
It's a hell of a sport. It's dangerous, expensive, time consuming and for the young. I have known two people who've been killed, two who were paralyzed from the neck down and countless friends that have been kicked, bitten, stomped on, run away with and so on
At the same time, I've gained confidence, extraordinary balance, soft & kind hands, good horsey friends and the intense unconditional love only an animal can give a human.
It feels like time for a break. Or possibly a recognition that how I felt once can change; or subliminal denial has finally been allowed to surface front and center.
What I do notice most, however, is a sense of relief at having more time and energy to create. Here goes.
Having just moved a household, family and two dogs across the country to northern California, I am happy to be getting back to painting. There is nothing like finishing a new work that moves my goals one step closer.
Still Living Momentarily
Don't know quite why this is on my mind. Maybe since I just moved 3,000 miles, from Virginia to California.
When I was a tiny kid, I have vague memories of picking up the phone off the wall in our kitchen in Naperville, Illinois, knowing my mom was on the extension. I don't remember knowing how to turn the dial to get numbers; maybe that hadn't even been invented yet. I could hear multiple chattering, somewhat familiar voices, which suddenly stopped when my phone clicked on. A dark pause led to my mother admonishing me to hang up the phone, please. Of course I did.
Those were party lines; mid-fifties. And party those women did with that new fangled machine, able to gossip easily, locally and with many households all at once. Somewhere in an AT&T or Ma Bell building, another woman sat at a huge console, plugging-in and linking wires so the neighborhood could run rampant.
Here we are, 3,000 miles from where we were a month ago and half a century from that memory. My iPhone 5s made the journey too. It has so many magical things it can do, I've only learned to use a fraction. Maybe it too can party-line, but what women now sit around the house and have the time or energy to gossip?
I didn't even have to change the number to use it in my new-found paradise, though some people ask why I have a Wisconsin area code (from two moves ago).
Imagine.
Had a nice write-up on emptyeasel.com - glad to have found it and grateful for the thoughtful prose:
Catherine Twomey: Diverse Paintings in Oil & Watercolor
Catherine Twomey’s artwork depicts who she is at the moment, and the fact of the matter is her interests are ever changing. So, it makes sense that her artwork spans from still life to landscapes to animal portraits—and then some!
EMPTYEASEL.COM
Indian Horsehair Vase & Lemon; A First Meeting |
African Shell and Rock, In Conversation |
Viginia White Oak, 12 X 24", oil on gessoed birch |
This original, custom framed oil painting by internationally award-winning artist
Catherine Twomey speaks to the nostalgia of warm summer days. Painted en plein air
(outside, on site), it is of a Virginia General Store. It oozes the heat and light of a
late summer afternoon, where the old pumps sit waiting for their next customer along the shadowed country road.
I painted this building because it has become an old friend; I pass it almost daily. It's
design and classic beauty were obvious. I spent hours painting it as the day waned,
but loved every minute.
On archival linen board, the size of the painting is 5 X 7", with the frame it comes to
9.5 X 11". The frame is custom made by King of Frames (California) and is a rich
brown wood with a gold lining and very well made, ready to hand. It sets the painting
off beautifully and will enhance any setting.
The colors, texture, contrasts of light and shadow evoke the emotions of the 1940's,
when this store was built. It is a southern classic still serving a contemporary clientele
with dignity and charm.
Background
My artwork has been featured at the world renowned TED (Technology, Education and
Design) conference (TED MED in San Diego, on huge high definition screens throughout
the exhibition center). I recently won the nationally acclaimed ArtInPlace competition in
Virginia which placed a 12' X 24' mural on aluminum of my work, now seen by thousands
of commuters daily. Two museums currently house my art: The William H. Benton
Museum in Connecticut, and The LLoyd Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was a great
honor to be asked to exhibit and I continue to add to their collections. Speaking of
collections, my work is a part of hundreds of private collections worldwide.I've won many
national and international awards for my artwork, and am a published author which
means I have no excuse for bad writing or editing. Mea culpa. I'm not nearly as good a
writer as my brother Steve, who won a Pulitzer Prize and has some books in the works.
I do, however, try.I have studied with some of the best artistic and scientific minds in the
world: fellow medical illustrators. Leonardo da Vinci is considered the first medical
illustrator, and his knowledge, technical abilities and deep curiosity are benchmarks
for the field. As a Board Certified Medical Illustrator, I have had the privilege to know
and learn directly from some of the most extraordinarily talented, smart and influential
visionaries living today.Fine art influencers include Georgia O'Keefe, da Vinci,
Rembrandt and Degas. I look to their struggles and triumphs, and their unflinching
persistence.
|
Genre: | Landscape | |
Media: | Custom wood framed with gold lining; archival line... | |
Auction Notes: | My artwork has been featured at the world renownedTED (Technology, Education and Design) conference (TED MED in San Diego, on huge high definition screens throughout the exhibition center). I recently won the nationally acclaimedArtInPlacecompetition in Virginia which placed a 12' X 24' mural on aluminum of my work, now seen by thousands of commuters daily. Two museums currently house my art: The William H. Benton Museum in Connecticut, andThe LLoyd Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was a great honor to be asked to exhibit and I continue to add to their collections. Speaking of collections, my work is a part of hundreds of private collections worldwide.
Fine art influencers includeGeorgia O'Keefe, da Vinci, Rembrandt and Degas. I look to their struggles and triumphs, and their unflinching persistence.
|
"East Fall Blue Ridge No. 4" oil on linen board, C. Twomey Please Click HERE to view the AUCTION!
This 8 X 10" on archival board oil painting is from a series, the first of which won the nationally acclaimed "ArtInPlace" competition and was reproduced into a 12 X 24' mural along a busy highway in Charlottesville, VA. Can't get enough of the Blue Ridge mountains, especially in the fall. This view is from Skyline Drive, looking towards the east around sunset in the fall. I've painted it four times now, and that's still not enough! This particular painting is more luminous than previous works, as the technique evolves.
|
"Southern Homestead" by C. Twomey, custom framed 8 X 10" original oil |
"Barboursville Vineyards No.1", 6 X 6", oil on archival linen |
|
"Southern Homestead No. 1" C. Twomey, 8 X 10", oil |
"Grace Vineyards No. 1", oil on linen board, 6 X 6", C. Twomey |
"Da Vinci Horse Piaffe" C. Twomey; ©2015 Catherine Twomey • All Rights Reserved |
"Virginia Country Store", Twomey, oil custom framed |
"Virginia Country Store" enlarged |
"Taylor Jug and Pear" by Twomey |