When Peter Cusack first moved from New York City to Torrington, Connecticut pre-Covid, he thought he was going to be alone. “Wasn’t that ridiculous?” he said now, laughing. “I thought I was the only artist up here. Then I quickly learned that if you throw a stone, you hit an artist.”
In 2019, Cusack launched the Journal of Cornwall Contemporary Art (COCOA), originally imagined as a sort of art salon-meets-magazine-meets-espresso bar. “I realized I could channel this energy and give all these artists something to do and write about,” he said. “I had this idea of creating an exhibition space modeled after the Center for Italian Art in Soho,” he continued. “It would be beautiful, with a library and an espresso machine... but I couldn’t pull it off. I just needed more money than I had.”
So instead, he built the magazine. “I thought, let’s create a space for conversation. It was a literary magazine for artists.” COCOA ran quarterly for four years but quickly became a full-time endeavor, filled with deeply considered layouts and writing.“Production took over and it just became 24-7. I wasn’t painting. It was too much.”
Today, Cusack balances painting, teaching, and mentoring and infuses it all with his own blend of formal rigor and improvisational warmth. He teaches regularly at the Scoville Library and White Hart Inn in Salisbury, as well as one day a week at The Art Studio NY. His program, “The Vivid Color of Experience,” combines traditional skill-building with Zen-inflected awareness and encouragement. “The idea is that all of your life’s experience gives you momentum for learning,” he explained. “Everyone already comes with so much; they just need to be shown the path.”
Cusack’s teaching style is hands-on but reflective. His curriculum is structured, but always responsive to the individual. “When someone’s doing independent study, they come to a block, and that’s when I start really teaching. When their teacup is empty, that’s when I add a little.”
His students often express amazement at what they can do under his guidance. “People say, ‘I didn’t know I could draw this,’ or ‘This is the first time anyone has actually taught me.’ That’s why I’m so passionate about it.”
Rebecca Schweiger, founder of The Art Studio NY, said of Cusack, “He’s devoted to his students, and they adore him. People are so surprised at how much they can learn in such a short time.”
After graduating from Syracuse University as an English major, Cusack spent five years in publishing, including at “Consumer Reports.”
“I was sitting in front of a computer all the time, and I hated it,” he said. So, he left it behind and moved to rural France to study painting under Ted Seth Jacobs, the late master draftsman and Zen-influenced teacher. “There was no cell service, just a pay phone in the village,” Cusack recalled. “I was 28, 29 years old. I became very romantic about it. I learned French, taught my girlfriend to drive stick shift in the fields. It was a movie.”
That year changed everything. “Everything I teach here really comes from that time,” he said. “He (Ted Seth Jacobs) really showed me how to actually do things. Once it clicked, I was off and running.”
He now draws from his hybrid background in painting, publishing, and illustration and distills it into clear lessons for his students. At 53, Cusack says he’s enjoying a creative life he only once dreamed about.
His paintings have been shown at Mary MacGill in Germantown, Judy Black Memorial Park in Washington Depot, and Craven Contemporary in Kent. His work is in the permanent collections of the New York Transit Museum, the Museum of American Illustration, and the United States Air Force Art Collection. His name appears in the pages of “Architectural Digest,” “New England Home,” and “An Illustrated Life.”
Yet, it’s teaching that most feeds him. “Painting is a wonderful way to interact with the world,” he said, “and teaching — especially up here — connects me to the community. That’s the most important thing for me. I feel like I’m giving. I’m playing a role.”
Asked if he still meditates, Cusack said, “Every day… but even with meditation, I’m at the point where I’m letting go of the form. It’s like teaching,” he continued. “I use the form, but I’m more interested in what happens in the space. Then I follow that.”
Learn more about Peter Cusack’s workshops at petercusack.com
Wednesdays & Saturdays at the White Hart Inn
Thursdays at Scoville Memorial Library
Carson Riva battles a double teamRiley Klein
