Prints Annual Discount! 30% off; Catherine Twomey Art

For the next two weeks, prints are offered at 30% off. Visit this link to order, and thanks for your interest:

https://catherine-twomey.pixels.com/

SawMillHillroad100small.jpg
instinctualpirouetteenlarged.jpg
buckmountainvineyards2.jpg

Annual Equestrian Print Sale in on Now!

NOW is the time to purchase these extraordinary, award winning, accurate equestrian prints. Please click:

ORDER HERE

to take advantage of the annual discount. For more information about the artist, please click:

ABOUT THE  ARTIST
 

Thank you for your interest.

"DaVinci Horse Canter" by C. Twomey, enlargement

"DaVinci Horse Canter" by C. Twomey, enlargement

"Moxie As Human" Porcelain Sculpture

Porcelain sculpture by Twomey, Catherine
Moxie As Human
It's difficult to not think of my rescue dog Moxie as not human, so I decided to sculpt her as such. I see her as a sassy retro bouffant chic with attitude - like the ones I knew in high school that always knew where the bones were buried. And well she does. Approximately 10" tall, fired in porcelain. Moxie was rescued from a high kill shelter in North Carolina, and is lab, shepherd and chow. Maybe. 

And I have to mention - last week we had a black bear in the yard. Ms. Moxie ran right up to him and stood there barking in his face. Took him about one minute before he lumbered into the woods, happy to escape all the noise. Thanks, Mox.

"Moxie As A Human" Sculpture

Original Ceramic Sculpture Catherine Twomey
MOXIE As A Human
As I'm recovering from foot surgery, to keep from losing my mind I have finally finished up a sculpture done in the spring. 

 The concept is somewhat bizarre, but that's alright. The day before she was to be killed at a high kill shelter in North Carolina, we rescued the sweetest, foxiest most adorable pup. We named her Moxie, and she's owned us ever since.

 Moxie is as smart as they come. We think she's chow, shepherd and lab. I knew I had to incorporate that personality into my art. She just barked "sassy retro girl" and that's what she became, in clay. From the bun on her head to her flashy Egyptian tail, there's no messing with Moxie. She sits like that all the time, with that right-at-you stare that lets you know she's got you.

 I think I'd like to work on more of these, it was that challenging.

 Thank goodness for dogs.

Rural Landscape With Plantation Barn 1 Auction

Bleak House Plantation Barn 1

The first in a barn series at the Bleak House Plantation in Earlysville, VA, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. At this nitial painting stage, I'm there to understand the correct structure, lighting and "mood" of the building. This barn has it all. It's imposing, to be sure, and as the sun was slowly heading down, the barn's history ebbed forth. 

I'm often at heightened state of, well - anxiety - at this stage. There is only so much time to get things painted correctly, and especially settle on the shadow's shapes. If you can imagine, what's calming are the barn sparrows and doves quietly having a conversation while an intruder (that would be me!) makes strange stroking motions on an easel and board.

This barn was built in the 1700's, when slaves worked the plantation's wheat, tobacco, corn and livestock.A dream-like glow seems to infuse the barn, much like the way I view the plantation.

This original oil on archival linen board is 7" X 5", and is unframed.

This painting would look like this if framed:



5 Ways To Identify A Painting For YOUR Taste

There are so many choices of painting styles - when you're in the market, it helps to quickly narrow down what appeals to your individual taste....(continued below)
Oil painting by Twomey, barn plantation
Bleak House Barn III
Working on a series of the Bleak House Plantation Barn located in Earlysville, VA. What I'm liking very much about this painting is that I'm loosening up. A dream like, luscious quality is infusing the structure - a quality I very much feel when I'm looking at this venerable barn.

This original is available for sale as a 5 X 7" oil on archival linen board. Framed in a gorgeous custom gold and black floating canvas frame. 

Helpful purchasing guidelines:

1. What's your budget? You can purchase original pieces of art - art that will increase in value - for less than $500.

2. When looking at art samples, what draws your eye first? This includes identifying that eye-grabbing trait: A color or colors? Subject matter, pattern, abstraction? The stroke (or lack of) of the artist's hand?

3. What size? This seems obvious, but are you open to whatever appeals? Or are you trying to fill a big space over the sofa? 

4. Will the artist's work appreciate in value? If this is important to you, take the time to look at their awards, their statement about their work, their Biography. These will tell you if they're in it for a quick fling or have the staying power needed to increase the value of their art.

5. Are you buying from your heart? If so, that magical quality that drew you in is likely to capture others as well. Successful collectors bring their hearts, their instincts AND their minds to the table when making an art-purchasing decision. 


How to Paint An Emotional Icon

Oil painting by Catherine Twomey
Bleak House Barn 2
I have to have a reason to paint. There is so much local history here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge that's it's tough to focus on just one thing. A focus on the barn at Bleak House Plantation tempers an impending sense of overwhelmed-ness that comes with so many choices.
Having just seen Twelve Years A Slave, that's what I'm thinking of as I read about the history of this plantation. I'm revisiting this barn series at the Bleak House Plantation in Earlysville, VA. Built in the1700's when slaves worked the plantation's wheat, tobacco, corn and livestock. 

I wandered around on a hot spring day, capturing many opinions of what this barn meant to the surrounding landscape. It was silent but for the birds in the country, yet I could hear the voices of past inhabitants and the earth gave up hints of previous homes and outbuildings. Google search was an enormous help in finding obscure references to the slaves that worked here, their names, position, ages, value, etc. 

This particular viewpoint is the third in the series. I simplified the structure, concentrating more on the light and shadow colors and shapes. Emotionally I wanted something beautiful but imposing, as this barn was a symbol of prosperity and enslaved toil. 

This original is available for sale as a 5 X 7" oil on archival linen board. Framed in a gorgeous custom gold and black floating canvas frame.