TONY SWARTWOOD  B. 1977

Nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina 25 minutes from Asheville is where Tony realized the calling to share his passion creating pet portraits.

With his desire to own a few acres for himself  but also very important for his dog, Barley Tony purchased a home with land in March of 2019.  Unfortunately in November (2019) Tony had to put Barley to rest due to nerve and spinal issues. The day of his passing Tony set out in search of a canvas to paint a portrait of him in remembrance. Tony ended up purchasing a very large 48″x60″ canvas, went through 100s of photographs, finally picked one and started painting. Tony was still in the beginning stages of the painting when he realized that the meaning behind a painting like this is so invaluable that he should share this with everyone.

Tony is originally from upstate New York in Binghamton. He began a life in art through art lessons taught at Binghamton’s Robertson Museum of Art beginning at age 9. Tony studied at Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute in Utica, New York and also earned a degree in Fine Arts at Suny Broome Community College. Since 2004 he’s taken part in gallery showings, fine art festivals and worked in the private and commercial environmental theming industry with companies such as Wacky World Studios from Florida, Johnathan Martin Creative from Tennessee  and Dream Think Imagine from North Carolina. Tony continues to expand as an artist to impact and help others along his journey.

Barchy”s Pet Portraits was created in memory of Barley aka Barchy.