Cactus Jack - Original Painting

Original painting by Ty McBride

Acrylic on canvas

Ty McBride is a self-taught oil/acrylic painter and muralist originally from the small town of Hemingway, SC that grew up and is currently based in Charlotte, NC. Her style is influenced by the combination of her love of black American culture and the bright colors she grew up seeing in local graffiti. She has always been a bit of a loner and creating art was her way of expressing herself and also speaking up for others. In her words “I want all of the young black and brown children to be able to look at my art and see a positive representation of themselves. They get enough negativity from all of the other sources around them. I want them to feel like they matter and so does the culture that they grew up in.”

In an odd turn of events, Ty didn’t start seriously painting until her second year of law school. As a student at St. Johns University School of Law in New York, she spent a lot of days and nights in a small basement apartment alone and when she needed a break from studying, she picked up a paintbrush. In the years since then, she has been selected for the Artfields competition in Lake City, SC four times, been commissioned for the Black Lives Matter mural in Spartanburg, SC, and displayed her work at art shows in NC, SC, GA, and DC.