Halcyon

Halcyon is an original abstract expressionist painting by Shawn McNulty that explores the relationship between color, texture, and the unexpected beauty of a painting’s surface. Layers of rich greens, bright yellows, crisp whites, and deep blacks create an energetic composition filled with movement, contrast, and intricate detail. Pops of red, turquoise, and pink emerge throughout the painting, adding moments of brightness and visual surprise.

Created with acrylic paint and pumice, Halcyon has a heavily textured surface that invites closer inspection. The pumice adds a gritty, dimensional quality, allowing the paint to build up into an irregular landscape of marks, ridges, and layered forms. Rather than relying on a smooth, uniform surface, the painting embraces the physical qualities of the materials and the unpredictable results of working directly with them.

One of the distinctive features of Halcyon is a horizontal line of collaged paint skins running across the composition. These dried remnants of paint, collected from my palette knives, have been incorporated directly into the artwork. What might otherwise be discarded studio material becomes part of the painting itself, adding another layer of texture, color, and history. I like the idea that the process of making a painting can leave behind materials that eventually find a second life in another piece.

The composition has a natural division between its lighter upper section and its predominantly green lower field. The horizontal band of yellow and accumulated paint skins connects these two areas, creating a visual boundary that also brings the entire composition together. The contrast between the more open, fragmented forms above and the dense, layered greens below gives the painting a sense of balance without making it feel overly controlled.

As an abstract expressionist, I’m interested in allowing experimentation to play a significant role in the finished work. Halcyon reflects that approach, combining deliberate decisions with the happy accidents that happen when paint, texture, and physical materials interact. The result is an original abstract painting that rewards both a quick glance and a closer look.

The title Halcyon suggests a feeling of calm, peace, and an idealized time or place. There’s an interesting contrast between that association and the painting’s energetic surface, where layers of color and texture compete for attention. For me, that tension is part of what makes abstract painting interesting. A painting doesn’t necessarily have to illustrate its title to evoke a particular mood or feeling.

With its rich green palette, substantial texture, and distinctive collage element, Halcyon would make a compelling addition to a contemporary living room, office, or creative space. It’s a painting designed to offer more than color on a wall, bringing depth, tactile detail, and the evidence of the artist’s process into the room.

Halcyon is an original abstract expressionist painting by Shawn McNulty, created with acrylic, pumice, and collaged paint skins collected from my palette knives. It celebrates the material side of painting and the possibilities that emerge when experimentation becomes part of the finished artwork.