Shawn McNulty is a prolific visual fine artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who has been working professionally for the past twenty two years from his Northeast Minneapolis studio. His studio is located in the historic Thorp Building which is part of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District and holds an annual open studio event called Art-A-Whirl during the third weekend of every May. This comprehensive official website serves as an archive to view his body of work, which adds up to over 600 original paintings going back to 1998. It’s also a robust e-commerce store to purchase his original abstract paintings for sale as well as archival pigment prints giclees on paper and stretched canvas. Additionally, his refreshing approach to creativity has inspired artists all over the world. Shawn was one of the founding members of Rosalux Gallery in Minneapolis, (Minnesota’s longest running artist cooperative gallery) and was an active member from 2002-2021. McNulty’s abstract paintings can be found in private collections worldwide, as well as notable corporate collections including President Bill Clinton, Peyton Manning, US Bank Stadium, Emerson, UBS Financial, Paramount Pictures, Bellagio Hotel & Casino, and General Mills. Check out the menu above to navigate the website sections including original art, digital art, prints, blog, about, faq, archive and contact. Abstract painting can be difficult to comprehend because of its non-representational quality which challenges the viewer to participate. Usually, people tend to overthink it. Check out his abstract art definition, article about abstract geometric artwork and artist quotes about his process.
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Original Art
Check out four random original paintings currently available below. Head over to my original paintings for sale section to dive deeper (back to 2008) into my art and its evolution, or go back even farther (back to 1998) in my archive section. I also have an extensive archival pigment prints giclees on paper or stretched canvas section with many options of my abstract paintings for sale as modern art prints.
Recent Exhibitions and News
I was interviewed by Jon Freeman for his Art & Music podcast called Flywheel Radio.
I completed a 60 x 96″ painting titled Arboretum for a new modern gathering space for the employees at Emerson in Chanhassen, Minnesota. I created a triptych for their board room in Rosemount several years ago, and this will be the second McNulty for their corporate collection. Emerson Worldwide is a global leader in industrial and commercial automation, control, and measurement solutions. Check out my time-lapse video showing my process.
My painting Caveat is on exhibit at the MSP airport through December 1st, 2025 in a group exhibition titled Connections. The exhibition is in the Concourse C Gallery found in Terminal 1. The original is SOLD but there are prints available here.
I had a fun and impromptu art talk with musician Ryan Adams on his Instagram live feed, or as he would call it, life feed.
MPR Art Hounds (Minnesota Public Radio) featured my art in February 2021. You can listen to the segment and read about it here.
Digital Art
I’ve started creating digital art using Procreate on an IPad Pro with the Apple pencil in 2023. I’m approaching the process similar to my traditional paintings by building up layers, as well as some experimentation with different brushes and styles. The pressure sensitivity of the pencil and brush options in Procreate are impressive. Even Gerhard Richter has been doing digital paintings lately. Click here to go the digital art page. I offer prints of the digital art on paper, canvas, acrylic, metal and wood up to 48×48 inches.
Selected Press Clippings
Minnesota Original
Minnesota Original came to my studio to film a segment about my artistic process on an unusually warm January day in 2012. MN Original, made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the Citizens of Minnesota, celebrates Minnesota’s creative community. This award-winning weekly series (produced by Twin Cities PBS) captures authentic expressions of the creative process to promote a deeper understanding of the arts. They captured some great time-lapse footage of my creation of Alligator which is part of the corporate collection of Copycats Media here in the Twin Cities.
US Bank Stadium Permanent Collection
I was one of 33 artists chosen from 1200 applicants to create artwork for US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. This is where the Minnesota Vikings play along with large concerts. I saw the U2 Joshua Tour here. The painting shows a very loose representational interpretation of the stadium, which is different than how I normally work. I used traditional green for the grass and blue for the sky for this very large 5×8′ painting which can be viewed in its own private room as you leave the Valhalla Suites. I also have another 36×36″ piece inside the Valhalla Suites common area.
