For his forthcoming solo show at Altamira Fine Art gallery in Scottdale, Arizona, David Frederick Riley aims to have the spirit of his paintings reach out to the viewer and interact. The show, titled Supranatural,features 10 new wildlife paintings that combine realistic, portrait-based scenes with abstracted backgrounds.
The General, oil on canvas, 60 x 60 in.
“All of the paintings [in the show] are of animals local to me that I have seen in person,” Riley explains of his process. “When I paint animals, I try to paint them with the character of the animal, but individual enough to capture a mood or emotion…I wanted to represent the animals in a very realistic manner, however I also wanted to push the interaction between the viewer and the subject of the painting.”
Higher Ground, oil on canvas, 60 x 48 in.
Riley adds that working with portraits allows him to focus on expression and emotional quality within his subject matter, while playing with color to create mood. “I’m using soft colors, but with variations of warm and cool, it creates a vibrant feel. They almost glow with a surrealist light. The abstract backgrounds weave into the subject and help lose edges, giving the feeling of the animal emerging from the ether. This body of work focuses on color and mark-making more heavily than any show I’ve done to date. The result is an impactful group of paintings that are very arresting in person.”
The artist creates impact not only through color, but through his subject’s eye contact, found in show works like the deer painting, The General. “I have been painting a series entitled Kings of the Fall,a group of paintings of the most famous whitetail bucks,” Riley shares. “The General is a legendary Nebraska buck that holds the title for the largest recorded typical rack in history. The deer itself was never seen, just the antlers found as a shed, so I got to recreate this giant. I angled the head up slightly and kept the edges soft to create an ethereal feel to this huge deer.”
Interested Party, oil on canvas, 72 x 36 in.
The added color in the new work was also a fun exploration for Riley, who frequently paints with neutrals or even monochromatic schemes, “so letting loose and painting more vibrantly was quite exciting,” he says. “I feel that the color’s vibration illustrates the vibration of energy in the animal.”
We see this energy come to life in the bear portrait, Interested Party.“It’s hard not to pause and take notice of this painting when you walk by it,” Riley says. “At 6 feet tall, the bear on the canvas feels a little too close for comfort, however, the expression is aware and curious but not aggressive. The emotional quality is connecting, sharing and a reminder to be present.”
Low Light Glow, oil on canvas, 60 x 40 in.
Riley’s overall hope for collectors after viewing the new show, running January 14 through 25, is that they feel “a sense of mysticism, and remember how awe-inspiring our natural world is,” he says. “It’s intended to remind us of the beauty of our shared, manifested world, and how the spiritual and natural can be felt all at once—Supranatural.”
Join Altamira Fine Art for an opening reception on Thursday, January 16, from 7 to 9 p.m. —
Altamira Fine Art 7038 E. Main Street » Scottsdale, AZ 85251 » (480) 949-1256 » www.altamiraart.com
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