Flying colors: Irish artist finds success on Whidbey

It’s never too late in life for a fresh start.

This is what Cormac McCarthy, an Irish-born, Clinton-based artist, discovered when he opened his studio two years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a career as a teacher and tutor in many subjects, he felt it was time to focus on his favorite – art.

McCarthy has found unexpected success in his vibrant, colorful landscape paintings, which have caught the eye of collectors from Whidbey Island and beyond. To the casual viewer, it may seem like the paintings are something McCarthy has been working on for decades, rather than the last few years.

Art has, however, always been in his life in some form or another. Growing up on the Emerald Isle, McCarthy found the creative outlet to be his safe space. His aunts and uncles knew to leave paper and paint out whenever he visited.

After high school, he attended an art college. He originally wanted to pursue painting as his main discipline, but an advisor dissuaded him, asking him if he wanted to be a starving artist. Instead, McCarthy chose graphic design as his discipline.

“It’s very ironic that I came full circle all the way back to painting, which is what I wanted to do but he convinced me to do something else,” McCarthy said.

After a short stint in the industry, he realized that his proclivity to take the time to make everything he designed perfect clashed with the rapid pace of the work he was assigned. So he found solace in teaching, a profession shared by many of his family members in Ireland.

McCarthy moved to South Whidbey in 2011 with his wife, who has familial ties to the island. A well-rounded educator, he taught kids a variety of subjects at several schools around the South End before recognizing that his old dream of painting brought him the most happiness.

Around four or five years ago, McCarthy’s friend and fellow artist, Louie Rochon, invited McCarthy to his studio. Rochon presented him with a large blank canvas on an easel and told him he had a week to paint something.

“It was a good man reaching out his hand in friendship and giving me the kickstart that was needed that brought me to where I am now, with my own business and my own gallery, selling artwork,” McCarthy said.

Rochon said that the minute McCarthy picked up a palette knife, there was little he could teach to such a natural, gifted painter.

“Within a couple short years, he opened his own studio/gallery directly across from my studio in Clinton,” Rochon said. “No surprise to me, he was an instant success. The rest is history. Very few artists ever achieve commercial success with their art, let alone open their own gallery.”

Rochon added that McCarthy is like a son to him, and he couldn’t be more proud.

McCarthy’s studio officially opened at the beginning of 2021. During the first two days of his opening, he sold 10 of the 11 paintings in his front room.

“I don’t say that arrogantly. What runs through my mind is the support of the community,” he said.

That support has encouraged him to keep going, even when the self-doubt creeps in daily.

“My family, whether it’s on this side of the ocean or the other side of the ocean, have supported me from the outset,” he said. “And you can’t buy stuff like that. You cannot buy what that means for an artist, to know that they’re supported by their immediate family.”

The majority of his artwork is located at his studio in Clinton, but can also be found scattered around other Whidbey businesses, from Pickles Deli to Fare Market to Seaside Spa and Salon. A recent show at an international gallery in Bellevue resulted in the purchase of one of his larger works by an anonymous collector in Taiwan.

“Obviously every artist dreams of becoming an international artist, and I don’t know what the benchmark is for that,” he said, adding that it’s exciting to think about his art on the other side of the planet.

His work features woodland paths lit with shadows and mountains surrounded by serene bodies of water. Lately, he’s branched out to painting underwater scenes, with plenty of kelp forests and koi fish.

“I didn’t start out trying to paint images of Whidbey. That was never my intention,” McCarthy said. “But as I look around at my work, there’s so much that reminds me of places on Whidbey, with the trees and the mountains and the forests and the atmosphere in some of the paintings.”

Instead of a brush, he uses a palette knife to paint, which creates unique textures throughout the pieces. Another canvas, which he lays flat, serves as a giant palette where he mixes colors, using the end of a broom and occasionally spritzing them with water.

“Sometimes with a piece of art, it will just flow. It will just go very, very quickly and then other times you have to battle with the painting a little bit,” he explained. “Maybe the composition isn’t quite right or the perspective isn’t quite right or the colors aren’t working with each other, and you have to play around. Most of the time the more I think about the painting, the less I like it when it’s finished.”

It’s always a surprise to him which paintings are most popular with gallery visitors and online admirers. He’s given up trying to figure out an algorithm of what buyers like most.

He credits luck and his own determination for his success. During the early days of the pandemic, before he had his studio in Clinton, he would get up as early as 4 a.m. to paint at a time when many other artists were likely still in bed.

“The cliche of the artist putting a piece of them into their painting, I truly believe that,” he said. “I truly believe I leave a piece of my soul and a piece of myself in each piece, in each painting. It’s a labor of love.”

McCarthy’s gallery is located at 4777 Commercial St. in Clinton. He is open every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is also available during the week by request. For more information visit, cormacpaints.art.

From the floor, Cormac McCarthy demonstrates his technique for mixing together paint colors on an additional canvas, which he uses as a giant palette.