Artistic License: Shane O’Malley

The Galway-based artist’s colourful artworks and murals reveal his love of geometric patterns and primary colours …

Who or what kickstarted your interest in art? I drew a lot as a kid. People around me encouraged it, probably because it kept me quiet. One of the turning points was becoming friends with an Australian student who joined our school, when I painted my first graffiti piece. That simple act changed my direction.

Tell us about your street art experiences: It’s been a bit of a journey. I started painting graffiti letters back in 2001 when I was 16, inspired by the graffiti scene that came out of New York in the 1970s and ’80s. I also drew characters on the side. In my mid-20s, I focused heavily on letterforms, but also began painting masks and characters. Around then, street art became more interesting to me.

As I got older and moved into painting in my studio, large murals became my main interest. I still dabble in street art and graffiti, but I love the slower pace now.

Aran Island Mural

How do you describe your style? A mix of forms and colour combinations that pull from different places and moments in my past. As a kid, I recreated a Robert Delaunay portrait for a school project. There was something about the graphic forms and circles of abstract geometry, the Bauhaus, Op Art. I was fascinated by the golden ratio and geometric patterns in nature. My style evolved over the years. Graffiti and street art taught me to emphasise high-contrast colours so a piece would pop. I really enjoy working with colour on a large scale.

I try to make a painting that holds someone’s attention and that they want to spend time in front of. To have a moment, whether that’s on a building or on canvas.

Where and how do you work? There are two sides to my practice: studio work and murals. I usually travel to new locations for public works, so I work fast in the open. The building and weather play a part. I like to respond to the environment, using the natural grid or structure of the building to influence the piece.

I also work out of my studio in Galway City. It’s more personal, so I’ll spend weeks on a single painting, often working on several at once. It’s a different pace, more brushes than spray paint. I aim for something that makes sense to me, then I can let go of the process and send it out into the world. I hope people connect with the work and want to live with it. That’s the real goal – not just to make something to display, but to create a connection through the work.

What inspired your new prints? It sits between painting and print, where you can see the human hand in each piece. What began as a simple idea, adding forms and colours on top of a print, evolved. I found myself spending more and more time reworking each piece, so each print in the series has its own thing going on.

Any new installations or murals coming up this summer? I’m working on a cool project right now that’s a bit different for me, using LED lights on a building in Dublin City. I can’t reveal the location just yet, but it’s launching in early June. I’m excited about that.

Need to know: For more information on Shane’s new series of hand-embellished prints, visit www.shaneomalleyart.com @shaneomalleyart

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