If there are two things Catherine Twomey wants to evoke in her art, it’s a deep, emotional response to the natural world and a compulsion to try to protect a world increasingly in need of protection. Early on, Twomey experienced joy interacting with and examining nature. Her curiosity and innate ability to communicate visually led her to become a practicing medical illustrator, garnering many industry awards over the years as she illustrated for medicine, health and education. Gradually, however, Twomey responded to an intrinsic calling to create her own, personal art in her own style. Encouraged by early successes such as winning national competitions, (ArtInPlace, Higbee 6X6” Squared, Bank of the Arts) and being awarded one-person shows and exhibitions, Twomey moved into the realm of fine art. She continues to expand her successes via competitions, acquisitions into collections, press coverage and international recognition.
Twomey is best known for her unique ability to experience, and then interpret, the extraordinary influence of the natural world. Twomey’s paintings reflect a deep sensitivity heightened by an urgent sense that that world is under siege. Twomey revels in using oil and acrylics in a liquid state, intermixing hues in a highly planned orchestration of paint layers. The finished works celebrate the unmatched detail and beauty of places Twomey has initially painted en plein air. Her intimate, on-site absorption of a place and time is reimagined into complex abstractions designed to focus on the overwhelming need to protect the sacred places of nature. Twomey’s latest body of work, Universe Series, is a visual declaration of intent to prompt people to positively respond and engage in their natural world, politically, physically and emotionally.
Catherine’s work can by found in corporate collections, including those of the Sanofi Winthrop, General Electric, Abbott Labs, Pfizer, Wine & Country, NBC, Mission Hospital and many others. Recent museum shows include the i.d.e.a. Museum in Arizona and the Lloyd Museum in Cincinatti, Ohio. Her works are found in private collections internationally.
Statement
The majesty and beauty of the fragile earth is a muse - if I can capture its depth, energy and preciousness, I can share that and heighten awareness of it’s fleeting uniqueness. The ethereal, soft and dramatic sequences of paint I apply suggest rapidly changing light.
The fluid paint has a mind of its own; yet in subtle ways it can be directed for the better of the whole. Rather than trying to control every aspect of the pigments, I find it much more enjoyable to let the paint find its own way, like water does as it forms a stream or mountains do as they respond to internal forces in undulate shapes and sizes.
Painting provides a sense of peace and productivity that is unmatched. I feel a profound reverence for nature and have a heightened sense of urgency driving me to engage people through my work. I immerse myself in natural surroundings, finding a deep connection to the mountains, the waterfalls, oceans and skies.
First I hike, paint plein air, then take observations back to the studio to create a personal response to the experience. I seek to prompt people to relish their interactions with nature and the world: politically, physically and emotionally. Ultimately, I want my work to elicit a positive, meditative response in the viewer, leaving them with positive feelings about the earth and its extraordinary fragile beauty.
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