Amy McCormac paints colorful, psychologically real and emotive figurative oil paintings depicting key moments in her family experience. She was raised in an artistic family in Chicago, and originally wanted to be an illustrator. Amy received a BFA from Mundelein College, now part of Loyola University. Upon graduation, she briefly created 3D computer graphics before pivoting to become a commercial producer.
Shortly after her first daughter was born, her father became ill with cancer, and Amy spent most of the next 20 years caring for her parents and daughters through various health crisis. During this time she painted weekly from a live model at a community art center. In 2016, with her parents now deceased and her children in college, she relocated to Denver and started creating work reflecting her experiences.
Prompted by her daughter, she searched for similar work, and for the first time in her life became aware of what was happening in the contemporary art world. In late middle age, she became an emerging artist, trying to show her work for the first time. She and her husband relocated to Los Angeles in 2018.
Statement
Therapy taught me that misunderstandings and missed connections in my family created anxiety, depression and damaging patterns of behavior. To explore the impact of these responses, I paint cinematic works depicting specific emotional moments between myself and my family. I portray internal conflicts, ambivalence and confrontations. Color and abstraction heighten the psychological and emotional temperature of the figures in the work. In a society that promotes a false narrative of family and motherhood, I strive to present a more authentic picture. My work is raw, humorous and compassionate.