PROGRESS

This piece was created as a house warming gift for a life-long friend who has had recent success in among many other things. The shapes, for me, represented the spread- sheets, charts and graphs of that trade warping and converging on a moment, the way life sometimes seems organized. I felt that the resultant shapes lent themselves to an abstract landscape of sorts, so I left a clear expansive sky along the top of both panels looking forward to continued success. The numbers mixed throughout the charts are numbers we've had in common over the years from being born a few days apart, growing up a house apart and of course the hockey jerseys of good friends. Panel one is 24" x 50", panel two, 48" x 50", acrylic and marker on canvas.

Click here to return to the RILEY23.COM GALLERY PAGE.
Click here to go to the main BLOG PAGE.

HAT IN THE CAT

These photos show the progression of one of my recent paintings from sketch, to charcoal on canvas...


...acrylic rough-ins, details with markers and charcoal and finally an expressive (sloppy) paint-over.

The final peice is 67" tall. The main theme is how things that seem pure, especially from youth, can loose their luster (like with a sloppy paint-over) when more information is revealed. I took the eye from the back of the dollar bill and replaced it with one of Ren's from Ren & Stimpy with a mix of other surrealist imagery like a telephone book with tentacles and flying organs.

Click here to return to the RILEY23.COM GALLERY PAGE.
Click here to go to the main BLOG PAGE.

TO THE BRIDGE

For my latest paintings, I've used very graphic underpaintings then buried them beneath a layer of expressionist acrylics and a layer of geometric shapes in an attempt to bridge some of the divergent elements of my work. Thess piece are acrylic and marker on canvas between 48" and 67" tall. Most of these paintings are about the end of the world, aliens and cake. You can see a step by step progression of the piece on the bottom left (I mean right,) from sketch to finished work here.

Click here to return to the RILEY23.COM GALLERY PAGE.
Click here to go to the main BLOG PAGE.

SNABBITS

TRAP JAW 96" x 48" charcoal and acrylic on canvas

MJ 40" x 96" charcoal and acrylic on canvas

SNABBIT 40" x 96" charcoal and acrylic on canvas

These are my largest canvases to date. I left my shoes and face in the pictures to give a sense of scale. The idea grew from a picture I found in the recycling bin at my old job, apparently by a little kid, of a rabbit head on a long segmented body. Thanks weird little kid.

Click here to return to the RILEY23.COM GALLERY PAGE.
Click here to go to the main BLOG PAGE.