I met my wife Sarah, a hippie girl from Whidbey Island, on a beach on the French Riviera during a chance encounter during a summer holiday when I was in my early 20s. We spent three days together wandering the beautiful city of Nice, and then it was time for me to fly home to Ireland. A week later she followed me to Ireland. We spent the next year together, living as carefree kids on the West Coast of Ireland in a gypsy-style caravan on the Dingle Peninsula (in Castlegregory, Co. Kerry), growing a little vegetable garden. It was plenty of fun. But then she returned to the USA to start her law degree at Stanford Law School, and I stayed in Ireland to finish a Master's Degree program in education at Hibernia College. After I completed my degree, and with my visa in hand, I boarded a flight to San Francisco, California, to join Sarah as she completed law school.
I had no idea what I was doing. I was a "country boy" from rural Ireland, with no experience of city life. Suddenly I was living in the city of San Francisco, in the middle of a melting pot of cultures. My first job in America had me teaching music to children of many cultures in four different Catholic schools in Oakland, California, two of which were right smack in the middle of "gangland." It was wild, terrifying, heart-wrenching, and inspiring. The poorer families in Oakland reminded me a lot of the Irish: family-oriented; lovers of music, food, and dance; pious; and generally very kind and gracious. They made me, an immigrant, feel accepted and appreciated. Even though I soon accepted a permanent position in an Irish-American Catholic parish in the Bay Area, these early experiences in some of the poorest parts of Oakland have left me with a deep loyalty to the people of that city.
When we found out that our first baby was on the way, my wife and I both knew it was time to get out of the city, and to a place where we could put down some roots. My wife is an island girl who grew up quilting, reading, and drinking tea in the middle of her family's Whidbey Island forest. I'm a country boy from Ireland who grew up roaming fields and falling out of trees. We made the pilgrimage to Whidbey in 2011, soon after our first daughter was born.
It has been 15 years now since I moved to the States, and 12 years since I moved to Whidbey. I now have three beautiful daughters (11, 6, and 1), three cats, a naughty doggy, a roof over my head, my own business, a supportive and kind wife (now a partner at a Whidbey Island law firm, Kelly, Arndt, & Walker) some amazing friends, and I live in an incredible community of people. I am very proud to now call myself an "islander." I am continuing to look for ways that I can give back to this wonderful place.
As I reflect on recent events in my life, 2022 was a truly wild year. We welcomed our third beautiful baby girl into our family; I broke my foot; we spent a month in Ireland; I campaigned my heart out for the "Mr. South Whidbey" competition (and didn't win, but earned lots of money for Friends of Friends!); I had about 10 public shows of my artwork, including one installation at the Yuan Ru international gallery in Bellevue, where I sold a massive, 12' x 5' piece to a collector in Taiwan; and a huge fir tree fell on us during the last major storm in November, totaling my car and leaving a significant hole in our house, with plenty of internal damage (thankfully everyone was safe!).
Here's to hoping that 2023 will be a little less "exciting," but equally as meaningful.
In addition to my own Cormac McCarthy Fine Arts studio and gallery located in Clinton, my work is currently spread out in various locations across Whidbey Island. I believe strongly in putting my work in front of the public in common public spaces. I believe that art should be everywhere, for everyone, and easily accessible.
My gallery is open every Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and I'm also available all week by request. There is nothing like seeing the artwork in person. A photo can never capture the true beauty and experience of a painting. Come visit me!
