About Brian

Brian Mannal is an attorney and artist based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His legal practice focuses on construction defect litigation, where he represents homeowners in complex disputes involving defective design and workmanship. Outside the courtroom, Brian has long been drawn to creative work in many forms. Although painting is his primary medium, his artistic interests also include sculpture and wood working.

Brian was raised on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where he learned to swim and sail on Nantucket Sound. At the age of thirteen, his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he graduated from Sandia Preparatory School, a small private school known for its balanced education in academics, athletics, arts, and enrichment activities.

After high school, Brian attended college and law school in Ohio, earning his B.A. in Religious Studies from the College of Wooster and his J.D. from Capital University Law School.

In 2009, Brian returned to Massachusetts, was admitted to the bar, and began his legal career on Cape Cod. Before ultimately returning to New Mexico, Brian served two terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives as State Representative for the 2nd Barnstable District.

In 2015, while balancing the demands of legislative service and trial practice, he discovered the need for a creative outlet. That journey began when his wife gave him a set of pastels. Snowed in with his family during a blizzard, Brian picked them up and rediscovered a love for making art.

For several years, Brian worked primarily in acrylics, hesitant to move into oil painting as a self-taught artist. In 2024, he began experimenting with oils and he has not looked back. His paintings range from landscapes and portraits to imaginative scenes. Brian views painting as both a creative pursuit and a source of calm, focus, and renewal.