Red Owl Abstract Painting by Shawn McNulty

My paintings consist of many layers that are applied over several weeks in chaotic bursts of energy. People often see things in my work, and I enjoy hearing their interpretations. I am always focused on the design fundamentals within the work, but sometimes towards the end I might do a little tweaking. This specific painting reminded me of the incredible branding from the Red Owl grocery store which originated here in Minnesota and was bought out by Supervalu a long time ago. Maybe you saw the store in season 3 of Fargo?

The black eye that you see on the left side was already there. I did embellish the outer edge of the form to get that sense of two owl ears along the top while I did my final layer of white. I had decided to title the piece “Red Owl” before I made that last layer.

()
Red Owl by Shawn McNulty 48x48" 2018