Artist Brian McCarty paints idyllic landscapes and bucolic architecture. “Growing up in rural New Jersey, I’ve always found old houses, barns, and the countryside interesting subjects,” says Brian. Influenced by his mom who was a self-taught artist and art teacher, she encouraged Brian to pursue anything artistic. After graduating from Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art and earning his BA in Art from Thomas Edison State College, he worked professionally as a graphic designer in New York for the largest publishing houses in the country. A career that spanned thirty-six years. Brian has done comedy and sketch writing with the Groundling Theater, and worked in a few major feature films as an actor. To begin his process, Brian takes photos of his references with an iPad, crops the images to his liking, and paints directly on his canvas with a quick oil wash. Recently returning to painting full time, he converted a room in his house into a working studio. “I get lots of natural light, and listen to music and podcasts while I paint.”