Adele J. McCarty

Freelance artist offering creative services for your home or business: custom paintings, book illustrations, murals or faux finishes.

Adele was born and raised in Hickory. She credits her devoted parents, the late William and Virginia James, and dedicated teachers along the way for recognizing and encouraging her gift early on. The shy talent knew by age seven that art secured a “confidence within,” which made her artistic style stand out. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design in 1994 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The artist is skilled at creating stimulating, signature masterpieces and complementing existing designs with exquisite detail. Whether Adele is creating portraits and paintings or transforming living and commercial spaces into unique universes through murals and faux finishes, her passion for art and versatility render her limitless.

Her broad range of talent includes illustrating multiple children’s including books by Patricia Middleton, “Given Strength” and “What Shall We Give Him?”, as well as rendering illustration for the cover of a new book by Darius Malbon, “From Darkness To Life Win the Battle”.
Adele’s work has been featured in many local venues and communities, such as Generations Children’s Store and Resurrection Church, both of Hickory, Catawba County Historical Museum in Newton, and Von Drehle Corporation in Maiden. An elegant Cinderella carriage gracing the exterior of the Historic Sherrill Tobacco building in downtown Catawba is another one of her captivating murals.

Most recently, Adele, who also works as a professional artist with Picture Source Somerset in Morganton, has been selected to design art for the B. Smith brand. Some of her dazzling painted cloth pieces were featured at the High Point Market, which is the largest home furnishing trade show in the world. There, she met with Dan Gasby, husband of the late famous Black restaurateur, model, and author to discuss future ventures.

​​Her latest accomplishments include designing an awe-inspiring mural honoring the famed 1964 Ridgeview Panthers, “Untouchables,” an undefeated and unscored upon, African American high school football team, which is featured in a documentary by Richard Eller. The story surrounding the mural and the team will be featured in an upcoming article in Our State magazine.