Abstract Resin Art Inspired by Nature
Based in Colorado, Christina Twomey creates beautiful abstract and resin art inspired by her travels. We sat down with Christina Twomey to learn about how she first got into the art world, her inspiration, and her favorite ways to collaborate with interior designers. What led you to a career as an artist?
One day I was just looking at my walls and I was thinking, “Oh my gosh, there’s so much blank space. But I can’t afford to go to an art gallery at this point and buy tons of art.” There happened to be a Joann Fabrics right out my back door. So I went to the Joann Fabrics one day and thought I could do some abstract art. I picked out a bunch of paints and pallets and canvases and just got to work. A few hours later, my husband came home, and he said, “This is amazing stuff. Where did you buy all this?” And I’m like, “I made it.” So it just kind of turned into an art career.
About two weeks after I started painting, I put some stuff on Etsy and sold my first piece right away. A couple of weeks after that, a curator contacted me from RAW. They were having this big show on Sunset Boulevard and she was like, “There’s going to be 2000 people in attendance. Would you want to be part of it?” I thought, “Are you kidding me? I’ve been painting for four weeks, but I’d love to be in your show.”
It was kind of a funny start and then it’s just grown from there. We’ve had a lot of commissions every year and people have really appreciated the artwork. It’s fun for me to get to know the people that I’m creating for too. We developed a lot of friendships because of it.
You’re best known for your resin pieces with alcohol inks. How did you get into resin art?
I first started just with canvases and textures, acrylic paints, and working on abstract pieces. I did that for a good two or three years until I discovered resin.
I was inspired by a couple of artists online. One’s Mitch Gobel—he and his wife do abstract art with resin and inks and lots of different types of pigments. I was just so inspired by his work. It was a little intimidating to start because of the cost of materials. It’s a really expensive medium to get into, but as soon as I tried it the first time, I was hooked. I love creating art with resin. It’s a really fun medium.
Where does your inspiration come from when you're creating pieces or a new collection?
Inspiration comes from everywhere: it’s from nature, it’s from our trips, it’s from other artists.
I love being on Instagram and TikTok, seeing what other people are creating out there, and getting inspiration and ideas from their work. I make it into my own and it’s always so unique.
What are some of the most exciting projects that you've had the chance to work on throughout your career?
I just had four commissions come through for a family in West Palm Beach, and they were massive commissions. One of them was 10 ft long, so it was really fun to get my hands wet doing these massive pieces. I really lucked out. All four pieces were beautiful and the customer was super happy.
I love working with people from all over the country. It’s really neat. Some people have a beach house and they want an ocean piece. Other people want more abstract stuff. I don’t want to pigeonhole myself into any one design, so I do like the fact that I’m a little multifaceted in the different types of art that I create.
Then sometimes I just like having time for myself to create things that I want to do.
How do you work with interior designers? Do people come to you with a concept, or do you have a more collaborative relationship with designers?
It totally depends. Some designers just want you to create whatever you feel is best based on specific colors. Then there are some interior designers that I’ve worked with where I do color studies. I’ll buy a multitude of inks and use a small-scale area where I’m creating a mini painting so we can see how the inks are flowing together.
What is the timeline for you to do custom commissioned pieces?
It depends on how many layers I’m doing with my resin artwork, and that’s usually dictated by the budget. If somebody has a larger budget, I’m able to do a lot of different layers, and that will extend the amount of working time.
Usually, it’s about two to six weeks, depending on the piece. I don’t like rushing through things and people are usually pretty patient to make sure the art’s going to be exactly how they want.
Are there any exciting collections or new pieces that you're working on right now?
I have a commission right now in my studio. It’s an agate-based piece. The people are from Minnesota and they saw a piece that I had created for this really neat bed and breakfast in Grand Rapids on Lake Superior. So they wanted something similar.
Right now I’m working on that and then I have a few requests coming in for some new stuff, but we haven’t determined what the look and feel is going to be like yet.
Are there any special care instructions that people should follow when handling your work?
The pieces are really durable, but resin does scratch. So I don’t necessarily recommend doing a countertop in resin because people are using their forks and knives there. One scratch and it’s ruined and you’re going to have to reapply the resin.
The care is pretty easy, though. To clean it I recommend isopropyl alcohol. Water doesn’t work well because it leaves a lot of streaks. The isopropyl alcohol is nice because it evaporates fast and leaves a really shiny, smooth finish.
If it’s a really heavy piece that has 10-15 layers on it, I recommend getting a professional installer just to make sure it’s in the wall correctly and it’s not going to ruin the person’s home. These pieces are really heavy. Some of them can get up to around 100 pounds.
What would you say is the most fulfilling part of being an artist?
I think when somebody allows me to use my creative freedom, that’s when I’m at my best. I love being an original creator—going different places in my mind, using different colors, and trying new experiences, textures, and mediums.
What would be your dream commission project right now?
I just love big, big paintings. If I could outfit a hotel or a hospital or some big space where they just need massive art—that’s my favorite. It’s always the large pieces that I love the most because there’s so much room to get creative.
Thank you to Christina for telling your story, and dedication to not only Wescover, but the future of authentically designed art.
