Bird in the Hand

Shawn McNulty
Acrylic and Pumice on Canvas
24×24″
2020

Bird in the Hand is an original abstract painting on canvas by visual artist Shawn McNulty. This painting is is 1.5″ deep, gallery wrapped with painted edges, and ready to hang with wire on the back.

Fun Fact: This painting was part of the Intimacy virtual exhibition at the Rosalux Gallery during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is what had to say about it:

“My work creates a relationship with the viewer that could be described as intimate. People often become fixated with a specific form within the composition, as well as finding new surprises in the same painting many years later. I have witnessed people get into arguments about what they see. My process incorporates organic spontaneity followed by a human interaction of visual exploration and problem solving.”

The title comes from the composition which looks like a person wearing a backwards baseball cap while a white bird is perched on their hand. This is one of those paintings that people become quite fixated on. A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush is a phrase that means it’s better to hold onto something than to risk losing it by trying to attain something better.