About the Artist

Drue McGarty's oil paintings celebrate the quiet beauty of everyday moments. She draws inspiration from Dutch still-life painting while merging it with a contemporary Southern sensibility. Her still life paintings often feature flowers from her Charleston garden, and intimate locally inspired vignettes that feel both timeless and personal. Poppies, her other main painting interest, are one of the most fragile but structurally distinctive flowers. They have followed her from her childhood in California to her garden in Charleston, and appear frequently in her art as reminders of the beauty of the moment as well as the fleetingness of life. In a world that has felt tense and uncertain in recent years, she hopes her paintings invite viewers to pause, breathe, and rediscover the value of stillness.

Drue's path to becoming a professional painter was somewhat roundabout, but creative work has always been central to her life. She was naturally drawn to visual expression from an early age, working in photography and design, long before she considered painting as a profession. Drue had studied and excelled in fine art during her undergraduate years but chose to focus on psychology. Between psychology degrees, Drue spent a year studying design and fine art at Savannah College of Art and Design’s Atlanta campus. Drue established a private practice in Charleston, but during those years, art remained present, waiting for the right moment to become her primary focus. It was in 2022 that Drue finally decided to pivot and focus on painting full time.

Since transitioning to painting, she has built strong professional momentum. She is represented by Spoonbill Gallery in Greenville, SC, and became an owner of Lowcountry Artists Gallery in Charleston, SC in 2026. Her paintings have been recognized through national juried exhibitions as well as received regional and national awards. Her work can be found in private collections across the United States.