Thursday, December 31, 2015

Leftover Coffee

After all of the holiday festivities, snow and cold weather here in Utah county, these coffee cups seemed like the perfect subjects to bring in the new year.  Still working on subtle value and temperature shifts in my opaque subjects, but I was pretty happy with this one.


(6x6in)

Monday, December 21, 2015

Little Piggies

Wanted to do something fun this morning, so I thought I'd borrow again from my daughter.  She's a big fan of Peppa Pig, the lovable British cartoon character.  My husband saw this painting and said it looked like Peppa was a the beach!


(6x6in)

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Red Slip-Ons

I bought these shoes for my daughter at a second hand store.  They were so adorable, but they were more like slip-offs.  They never stayed on her feet.  Unknowingly, I guess I was buying them to paint!


(6x6in.)

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Little Runners

These shoes are actually boys shoes that my daughter wears.  It seems like so many of the tennis shoes these days are brightly colored and not so gender specific.  Plus, boys shoes seem to have a wider toe box, so they're nice and comfy!


(6x6in.)




Monday, December 14, 2015

Lil' Chucks

Another pair of my daughter's shoes.  She only wore these a few times before they no longer fit.


(6x6in.)

Friday, December 11, 2015

Cami's New Shoes

My daughter got these new shoes from her Grandparents as an early Christmas gift.  She's grown out of the shoes we bought her in October.  It's amazing how fast children's feet grow.  It's so fun for me to see her scooting around in these!


(6x6in.)

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Holiday Cheer: Jingle and Shine

I took two sittings on this one.  There's so much going on around the Holidays that I'm not sure I'm taking my usual time to paint.  Luckily all of the festivities are fun!


(6x6in.)

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Holiday Cheer: Tangled Glow

I found these lights in the basement yesterday as we were putting up our tree.  They were all in a jumbled, tangled mess and it reminded me of the movie, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.  My husband and I have a tradition of watching it every year!


(6x6in.)

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Lollies

We're so excited we're heading to visit family soon for the Holiday.  Normally we don't have candy around the house, but I always buy some fruit juice sweetened lollipops for my daughter for a plane ride!


(6x6in.)

Monday, November 23, 2015

Holiday Cheer: Disco Christmas!

I've been wanted to incorporate this turquoise color into a holiday painting.  I found these christmas ornaments that reminded me a little of mirror balls.  As soon as I started painting I started wondering if disco Christmas music was ever a thing.  I'm sure people were in to it.  I'll have to look it up later today!


(6x6in.)

Friday, November 20, 2015

Holiday Cheer: Printed Ribbons

I was looking through some of our wrapping paper yesterday and realized we have a lot of leftover christmas paper.  Some years we pick a theme and stick with it for all our presents.  This year however, may be the year of leftover!


(6x6in.)

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Holiday Cheer: Boxes and Bows

These boxes once contained art supplies that my husband and I recently ordered.  I keep thinking I'll recycle them but then I find a new use for them around the house.  My daughter has kept herself entertained for hours with our left over art boxes.  Maybe I'll just keep them and wrap presents in them.



(6x6in.)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/257030218/holiday-cheer-boxes-and-bows?ref=shop_home_active_1

Holiday Cheer: X-Mas MISC.

It seems like random Christmas items are starting to pop up here and there around the Riley household.  I'm excited to put up the tree, but I think I'll wait until at least Thanksgiving!


(6x6in.)

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Holiday Cheer: Christmas 'Round the Corner

Another painting for the Holiday Cheer series I'm doing.  I'm not sure I've ever been so filled with  the Holiday Spirit this early in the year before.  I figure as long as I don't die out early, it's so fun to be excited for Christmas!


(6x6in.)

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Holiday Cheer: Peppermint Cappuccino

Today I was working on this little painting, listening to Christmas music and I told my husband that it reminded me of peppermint cappuccino and that I really wanted one.  So he made me a peppermint decaf with cinnamon that was so delicious!  Thanks Dave!


(6x6in.)


Thursday, November 5, 2015

Crossed Daisies

I decided to incorporate some grey paper into my painting this morning.  Recently I have been trying to avoid grey paintings so I haven't used much grey subject matter.  I was amazed at how many colors were in the grey paper's shadows!


(6x6in.)

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Daisies, Last Days

I think I enjoyed painting the slightly wilted daisies even better when they were young and healthy.  There was more variety and complexity to the petals.  Maybe daisies get better with age, just like we do.


(6x6in.)

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Daisies and Colored Glass

Still playing with this Daisy series.  I'll see if I can get one or two more painted before they are totally wilted.  I found some great colored glass vases at the Dollar Tree that I'm excited to paint.


(6x6in.)

Friday, October 30, 2015

One Pink Daisy

Another painting of this daisy series completed this morning.  I haven't painted flowers in a while so it took some focus to decide what information to include and what to leave out.  Flowers have A LOT of detail :)


(6x6in.)

Daisy Duo

My aunt commissioned these daisies that I painted yesterday.  I had so much fun with all the bright colors.  It's been fairly cloudy and cold here in Springville so it was great to create a little bright spot!


(6x6in.)

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Shadowy Compliments

After a rough start on this painting yesterday morning and feeling too tired to finish, I almost ditched out on it this morning and started a new one.  But I have to say, I fairly happy with how it turned out.

(6x6in.)

  

Monday, October 26, 2015

Winey Tomatoes

My husband bought this bottle of organic wine, but because I'm pregnant I haven't been partaking in the vino!  Thought I'd do a winey painting and make a winey post about how I'm not drinking wine right now.


(6x6in.)


Sunday, October 25, 2015

Reflections

I was in a bathroom yesterday that had a black and white checkered tile floor.  It inspired me to add a little pattern to my painting this morning!


(6x6in.)


Thursday, October 22, 2015

Glass and Colors

Today I was inspired by Carol Marine and Sarah Sedwick who both really bounce color around well in their work.  My favorite part about painting glass is putting in the highlights at the end!


(6x6in.)

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

White Eggplant

I decided to go for day 2 on the white eggplant.  They may be permanent still life subject matter until they go bad.  I'm not sure that they'd be worth cooking up for dinner.


(6x6in.)

Monday, October 19, 2015

The Illusive White Eggplant

My Dad had some white eggplants growing in his garden that I thought looked so cool.  Up until then, I hadn't seen a white eggplant.  I also got some purple eggplants from my Grandma last week.  I thought the two types of eggplant could make some cool color combos.


(6x6in.)

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Leaf and Cups2

 I experimented with some whites today.  It always amazes me how many colors you can see in white objects when you really start looking.


(6x6in.)

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Leaves 2

I got these cups and plates from Deseret Industries (commonly known at D.I. here in Utah) a couple of months ago and I can't believe how much use I've gotten out of them already.  D.I. stores are a lot like Goodwill stores in other regions.  I'll continue to shop there for still life subject matter.  I got a whole box of dishes for $10.00 - all kinds of colors, shapes and sizes!


(6x6in.)

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Leaf in Low Light

After a little break visiting my in-laws in Grand Junction this past weekend I'm back to my daily painting.  There were a lot of beautiful colors in the mountains on our way home.  I thought I'd try to capture the color of just (dramatic pause)....one leaf. :)


(6x6in.)

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

A Pair of Gourds

Wow!  I'll have to switch subject matter pretty soon.  The garden that I've been getting so many great colorful vegetables from is about done this year.  It sure has been fun to paint these edible items.


(6x6in.)


Monday, October 5, 2015

Garden Complements!

Got some great stuff out of my Dad's Garden yesterday.  I thought I'd go for a complementary color scheme this morning.  And complements to my Dad for growing such a great garden this year!


(6x6in.)

Friday, October 2, 2015

Four Trunks, Thanks Ali!

My brother-in-law Ali brought these great wooden elephants back to us after his recent visit home to Africa.  We just love them.  When my daughter Cami sees them she says, "Daddy elephant, Mommy elephant, Cami elephant and Baby elephant."  It's really the first idea she's had about us having a baby this upcoming Spring.  Thanks Ali!


(6x6in.)

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Shadowy Gourds

I just love the long stems on these gourds.  My daughter Cami has really enjoyed playing with them as well.  It seems that we get them away from her just right before she breaks the stems off.  I thought I better hurry up and do a painting while they were still intact.


(6x6in.)

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Jack-O-Lantern

I found this great little pumpkin candle at the grocery store that I had fun painting yesterday morning! However, the candle I found to go in it while I was painting was not my favorite scent.  My husband and I found a great mix of cinnamon bark essential oil, beeswax and vanilla that we melt frequently in our Scentsy fragrance burner.  It smells great and has no toxic chemicals!  I highly recommend.


(6x6in.)

Friday, September 25, 2015

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Gourd!

I found these great pumpkins and this gourd at our local health food store.  I couldn't resist all their character with the long stems and fun colors.  After I'm done painting the pumpkins I might try my hand at some homemade pumpkin filling for pies and muffins and such.  Yum!


(6x6in.)

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

There's One in Every Crowd

We got these delicious peaches from a friend who has a bumper crop on his peach tree.  Thinking about making peaches and cream pancakes tomorrow!


(5x7in.)

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Apples and Cider

Still in the fall mood.  I didn't think I had anything around the house that reminded me of Fall, but serendipitously this painting turned out looking a lot like Halloween to me.  My husband and I usually start watching Halloween movies around this time of year!  Unfortunately for him, I'm a lightweight when it comes to scary movies - so bring on the Adam's Family series and Hocus Pocus!



(6x6in.)

Monday, September 21, 2015

Apple Stacks and Cinnamon Sticks

My husband and I have really been excited about fall flavors this year.  We've been experimenting with lots of cinnamon!  We'll see what delicious treats we can create with the apples as well.


(6x6in.)

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Fall Feeling

I've been really getting into the spirit of Fall lately.  Also, I'm enjoying the cooler weather we have here in Utah.  My family and I went on a beautiful mountain drive on Friday to see the colors and it was magical!


(6x6in.)

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Tea Cups

I've been really missing my morning tea and coffee lately.  Since I found out I'm expecting I've been trying to stay away from the coffee and caffeinated tea.  This morning I thought I'd paint some coffee cups and tea to replace me actually having any!


(6x6in.)


Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Little Green Bottles

Wanted some new colors this morning and it seemed like I haven't painted much pink lately. I haven't yet invested in or created a shadowbox for my still life subjects, so the stormy overcast lighting here today was wonderful.


(6x6in.)

Monday, September 14, 2015

Aloe Ha Tomatoes!

We've had this Aloe plant for 4 years and have given it minimal care.  Somehow it's still with us.



(6x6in.)


Thursday, September 10, 2015

Fiesta

I was going for Fall colors this morning, but peppers seem to always remind me of a Summer party.


(6x6in.)

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Beets and Beans

More delicious vegetables from my Dad's garden.  I've decided green beans are fun to paint! (and eat).


(6x6in.)

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Grandpa's Tomatoes

Just got a bunch of Tomatoes from my Dad.  He grows a beautiful garden every year.  We have so many that I'm thinking we'll make some spaghetti sauce or some salsa.  Yum!


(6x6in.)


Friday, September 4, 2015

Tomatoes on the Vine

Played with some organic shapes this morning.  My daughter Cami, had a really hard time leaving the luscious looking tomatoes alone while Mom painted them.


(6x6in.) 


Thursday, September 3, 2015

Family of Four

I'm happy to announce that we're expecting one more member (little cutie- Ha!) to join our family in May!  My husband, daughter and I are really excited!


                                                                        (6x6in.)