Studio Sale: Catherine Twomey Art Until 12/1/23

Award winning “Maple Ridge Blue Ridge Mountains” oil with copper and gold. Until December 1, 2023, 25% off selected original oils here: catherinetwomeyart.etsy.com

"Blue Ridge Clouds Sheep No. 2" SOLD!

"Blue Ridge Clouds Sheep" has been SOLD to a buyer from New Jersey! Thank you so much. This original 22" X 28" oil painting on a stretched canvas frame is shipping out today. For additional originals and prints, visit my Etsy site here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1462408022/studio-sale-original-oil-painting?click_key=a1770be114ec0bc46f2e6c4906799988f8f406c7%3A1462408022&click_sum=8ea4385e&ref=shop_home_active_15&pro=1

“Blue Ridge Clouds Sheep No. 2” Sold, by Catherine Twomey

Catherine Twomey Contributes to a PAPA PBS Documentary

As a member of Preserving A Picturesque America (https://preservationthroughart.org/) yesterday I joined three other plein air painters at the Biltmore Estate on the Wisteria Terrace. As we painted we were filmed and then interviewed about our work and PAPA for an upcoming PBS Documentary. It was a most spectacular day, fortunately, and although I have almost no memory of what I said in the interview, I hope I did PAPA proud - I know they make me proud.

Painting, getting filmed and interviewed for a PBS documentary this morning at Biltmore. Four plein air painters for Preserving a Picturesque America hard at work.

Jeff the cameraman from LA, preparing to shoot with his 30# camera.

The wisteria that captured my heart and eye; along with Mt. Pisgah.

Almost finished, always one more thing to do....9 X 12" oil on Artefex canvas over aluminum panel with Michael Harding oils.

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