My name is Cormac McCarthy (https://www.cormacpaints.art) and I am a proud immigrant to the United States from Tipperary, Ireland. . Whidbey Island Business Spotlight Articles

I started out my working life as an elementary school teacher. I taught for fifteen years in schools from Tipperary, to the San Francisco Bay Area of California, and eventually to Whidbey Island. I loved teaching, and being with my students. I worked very hard to be the best teacher I could be, but inside, I always felt something was missing. After 15 years of teaching, I realized that I was completely burned out, and that my mental health was being impacted.

During this time I had started painting on canvases, here and there, as a hobby. I had met an incredibly talented local artist named Louie Rochon. I had talked to Louie about my deep love for painting, and I had expressed curiosity about Louie's work -- he was a "real artist," who painted as an actual career. Then the moment that changed my life forever happened: Louie invited me to visit his studio one day, on Whidbey Island, not far from my home: the Rochon Fine Art Studio and Gallery. When I arrived, Louie handed me a paintbrush. He had set up a corner of his studio for me, with an easel bearing a large blank canvas, and brushes and paints at the ready. He invited me to come and paint with him in his studio. I could not believe my good fortune, to be handed this incredible opportunity. And so I accepted this hand of generosity. I started spending time painting in a "real artist's studio." Louie mentored me through the process of working a canvas, as well as working through my brain and the hurdles my brain creates. With Louie’s support and mentorship, I started asking myself the question: “What would I need to do to make my passion for art my career?” It seemed to me that this was an insurmountable mountain to climb and the success rate was extremely low. But with Louie's support, and the gracious and kind hand of a fellow artist, I decided that what I truly wanted was to "dig in" and to try to become one of the few to actually “make it” in the art business.

In February 2021, I took a huge leap of faith. I signed a lease on a studio space in Clinton WA, about 10 minutes from my home. I did not truly know whether or not I was going to be able to pay my next month’s rent. Fortunately, my dreams came true. At my “Grand Opening” event, I sold everything I had available to sell, 10 paintings. This single opening event put enough into my savings account to pay my rent for the next 9 months. This was a wild beginning, and another "God shot," giving me clear hope that I was on the right path.

The Cormac McCarthy Fine Art Studio and Gallery, located on Whidbey Island, Washington, was born.

I have never looked back since then. While I have never again recreated that initial "Grand Opening" miracle, business is still booming. I create art that I love, and my pieces are often selling as fast as I create them. My work has traveled internationally (to my knowledge, so far I have pieces living in Portugal, Taiwan, and Ireland) as well as in many states in America. I have been featured in various newspapers and magazines as a "rising artist." I was even featured in an article in a Taiwanese art magazine, ARTCO" in 2022, and the Nationalist Newspaper in the South of Ireland! I have shown my work in large international galleries, like the Yuan Ru Gallery in Bellevue, Washington, as well as in small public spaces, like my favorite local sandwich shop. I have just recently received an Honorable Mention in the “Ten Moir Gallery's Cityscapes Art Competition”. I am still just delighted that my art gets to be displayed anywhere, and I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities I have been given.