"Rhododendron Portrait" Auction Starting Today

"Rhododendron Portrait" by C. Twomey

At auction today, click HERE

From the garden, 6 X 8" linen on board. 

Enlargement of "Rhododendron Portrait."

How the painting would appear framed.

Auction Ending Tonight!

Please click HERE to bid!

Thank you for your interest!

Ending 5/2 at 8:00 pm! Wakefield Farm Shed With Dogwoods.

Ending Friday, May 2 at 8:00 pm is this auction:

Wakefield Farm Shed With Dogwoods: Built 1781

Auction, Wakefield Farm Shed With Dogwoods

First local plein air of the season, I painted this last Monday at the gorgeous Wakefield Farm. The farm is in my back yard and houses 25 horses. It was built in 1781 and has many of the original structures, including this shed. 

I was taken by the beautiful aging grays of the shed's walls against the brilliant pinks, white and apricots of the flowering dogwoods. What a sight! As I painted at least five people came over for pleasant chats and comments. A day that will not soon be forgotten.

The original oil is 5X7" and is on archival linen board. The painting is unframed. This is how the painting would look framed:

Auction

Thank you for your interest.

Wakefield Farm Shed With Dogwoods: Built 1781

Starting at Auction tomorrow, Saturday April 26:

Wakefield Farm Shed With Dogwoods: Built 1781

First local plein air of the season, I painted this last Monday at the gorgeous Wakefield Farm. The farm is in my back yard and houses 25 horses. It was built in 1781 and has many of the original structures, including this shed. 

I was taken by the beautiful aging grays of the shed's walls against the brilliant pinks, white and apricots of the flowering dogwoods. What a sight! As I painted at least five people came over for pleasant chats and comments. A day that will not soon be forgotten.

The original oil is 5X7" and is on archival linen board. The painting is unframed. This is how the painting would look framed:

Auction

Thank you for your interest.

Auction: "Storm's A Comin" by Twomey

"Storm's A Comin" 10 X 8" oil on canvas

Now at auction: a Twomety original oil painting "Storm's A Comin" 

Process

This was one of those days when you can feel the ions in the air. Was it dangerous to start painting this enormous, approaching storm? Probably not; but I was in the moment and it was dramatic. This was painted on a beach near Tampa, Florida. The storm stayed out to sea, thankfully. 

The contrasts and colors were simply incredible. I had to hurry up not to get wet. Every time I look at this, I'm taken back to that warm tropical air, the flashing lightening and the sense of impending chaos.

This work is 10 X 8" on archival canvas. It is unframed. This is how this painting would look framed:

"Storm's A Comin" 10 X 8" oil on canvas, sample framed

Thank you for your attention.

"Storm's A Comin" Auction Starts Tomorrow!

"Storm's A Comin" 10 X 8" oil on canvas

Beginning tomorrow this original oil painting "Storm's A Comin" Auction will begin. 

This was one of those days when you can feel the ions in the air. Was it dangerous to start painting this enormous, approaching storm? Probably not; but I was in the moment and it was dramatic. This was painted on a beach near Tampa, Florida. The storm stayed out to sea, thankfully. 

The contrasts and colors were simply incredible. I had to hurry up not to get wet. Every time I look at this, I'm taken back to that warm tropical air, the flashing lightening and the sense of impending chaos.

This work is 10 X 8" on archival canvas. It is unframed. This is how this painting would look framed:

"Storm's A Comin" 10 X 8" oil on canvas, sample framed

Thank you for your attention.

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)

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

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.