02/12/2026
"The Break of Dawn"
48" by 30", acrylic on canvas with palette knife
This is a commission piece I just finished for a new mysterious client in China!
In the first year of art school, students had the opportunity to explore different art fields. I studied sculpture, fashion, printmaking, painting, and graphic design. At the end of the year, we had to choose which field we wanted to study for the next three years. I, of course, chose painting.
I went to sign the papers with the counsellor and told him I wanted to continue my painting studies. He closed the door behind me and asked me a series of questions. He said, “Cormac, do you like nice clothes?” I said yes. He asked, “Do you want to have a nice car when you’re older?” I said, of course. He asked if I would like to own a house someday, and I said yes. He then said it takes an artist about 10 years before they ever sell a painting, and another 10 years before they would be recognised as an artist — and that the chances of that even happening, even for the best artists, were slim to none. “You are going to do graphic design,” he said. Being pretty young and unsure about what the right thing to do was, I changed my decision to study graphic design, which I never ended up pursuing after college.
Well, here we are — full circle — and I am packing up a painting to be sent to the other side of the world to be hung on somebody’s wall in China.
This one is for you, Mr. Counsellor. I made my dreams come true!
Cormac McCarthy Fine Art
Website: https://www.cormacpaints.art
Gallery: 4777 Commercial Street, Suite A2, Clinton , WA, 98236
Facebook: Cormac McCarthy Fine Arts
Instagram: cormac.mccarthy.art
