Daily Paintings by Ria Hills

old self/new self

2008-07-17T15:26:00.006-04:00

Many years ago I was hospitalized because of a nervous breakdown. While in the hospital I had much idle time and it was a perfect opportunity for me to create. I made this sculpture out of clay while there, but it was never fired. Because of it she lost an arm, her feet and some of her skin.
What she is doing is removing her old self - the skin, the mask - pushing it away to reveal her true self. The parallels to my life became more transparent as time went on.

Her feet became detached - I too had lost my footing, my path.

Her right arm fell off (I positioned it in place for the photo) - that's the hand I use for painting and I didn't paint for years after I made her. And the skin, the veneer which she thought protected her all her life, well I'm still working on removing it.

I keep her around as a reminder of where I've been and what I'm reaching for. It also reminds me how fragile we are as human beings and how important it is to feel emotionally safe.

I'm identifying with her again more than ever. My elderly parents who live in an addition next door to us have been in and out of the hospital and I have no time to myself. I'm reaching a breaking point and I need to re-access my needs and boundaries. Painting time has been sacrificed for over 2 weeks and I can feel it. I'm working on scheduling daily time again so stay tuned, please.

We Have a Winner!

2008-07-06T22:25:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,
Many of you signed up for the free painting giveaway. I was very happy to see that you are all still visiting my blog. I hope you are enjoying the recent work.
My mother Johanna (that's her on the left) picked the winner again.
The winner of the "Three Pears" pastel painting is Monika Kaganiec of Poland. Congratulations Monika! Your painting will be in the mail this week.

I'm sorry to be late with the announcement. My father is in the hospital and we've been visiting him and helping my mom out at home.

If you haven't already subscribed to my blog you may want to. When ever I post you will receive an email update. Just enter your email address in the form on the right to subscribe.
I plan on having another free painting week before the end of summer.

chocolate bar painting

2008-07-06T14:31:00.003-04:00

8" by 10" daily pastel painting, unframed

It's a comfort food week so I painted my my worst vice. I'm the person they are talking about when they say "stealing candy from a baby". My kids used to hide their chocolate from me because if it's there, I'll eat it.
These days I don't keep it in the house unless I need a fix ;-)

I know that I said that I was going to continue painting eggs until I created the perfect egg painting - in my eyes that is. But I got distracted by a chocolate bar and may work on chocolate a bit before I paint another egg.

$180 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

three yolks egg painting

2008-07-05T17:29:00.000-04:00

10" by 8" daily pastel painting, unframed

I know you can paint eggs in more ways than you can cook them. So there will be more to come until I've exhausted the possibilities or just get sick of painting them.

$180 with free shipping and handling in the US. Please email me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

egg yolk

2008-07-04T23:57:00.005-04:00

8" by 8" daily pastel painting, unframed

I'm running out of names for egg paintings. I'd be happy to take suggestions for better titles. I suppose I could have called it orange and blue. I thought I'd play with color in this one.

$150 with free shipping and handling in the US. Please E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

If you haven't already, you can still enter your name in the Free Painting Giveaway. The drawing will take place this evening so there's still time.

hard boiled

2008-07-02T18:09:00.001-04:00

9" by 7" daily pastel painting, unframed

Yes, another egg.
I want to paint the perfect egg so more will come until I am completely satisfied.
Hope you like it . . . this small painting would make a nice addition to a kitchen wall.

$150 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

cracked egg

2008-07-01T13:50:00.003-04:00

7" by 7" daily pastel painting, unframed

I had so much positive feedback on my first cracked egg so I painted another.

$130 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

underwater

2008-06-29T14:12:00.004-04:00

10 1/2" by 7 3/4" daily pastel painting, unframed

I composed the reference for this painting in photoshop and then worked from the digital image on my computer.
I had fun with this piece and hope to come up with some similar ones in this theme.

$320 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

Don't forget to sign up for the FREE PAINTING drawing in the post below.

New Blog and FREE PAINTING giveaway

2008-06-28T20:17:00.004-04:00

I started a blog for my pet portraits this week. To kick things off I'm having a discounted price on 5 x 7 pet paintings for a limited time.

Most of my commissioned pet portrait paintings are usually given as gifts from the buyer. A gift of a loved pet is always appreciated and cherished.

If you found out about pastel pup here, you can enter this code - RHBLOG - to receive an additional savings of $20 on top of the already discounted price. Just send me an email with the code and a photo of your pet. Turn around time is one week.
Click here or on the logo above to visit the new blog.

I''m also having my second FREE PAINTING giveaway.
The painting will be absolutely free to the winner. I will pay for shipping costs also.
If you are interested in participating in the draw for the 5" x 7" painting below just send me an email with FREE PAINTING in the subject line and your name and address in the body of the email. The winner will be chosen in one week on July 5th.

"Three Pears"

Good Luck!

Dipper - dog portrait

2008-06-26T16:31:00.003-04:00

11" by 14" commissioned pastel painting

I've been busy with commissioned work which is why I haven't been posting a daily painting consistently. My apologies to those who are "watching" my blog. Please stay tuned for more daily work.

I'll be shipping this out to my customer in the morning.
If you are interested in commissioning a portrait please visit my dog portrait site. I'll paint other pets and people also. The prices are the same.

pond koi

2008-06-23T13:16:00.003-04:00

8" by 8" daily pastel painting, unframed
(shipping info)

I tend to work fairly tight with my pastels so today I decided to work looser for my daily paintings for a while. I like the effect of seeing the application of the pastel on the paper.

Feedback is always appreciated.

If you like looking at fish but hate the job of cleaning a tank, a small painting of koi is a nice alternative!

$120 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

magnolia bud pastel painting

2008-06-20T14:04:00.002-04:00

5" by 7" daily pastel painting, unframed

I planted a magnolia in my yard 2 years ago because it's one of my favorite trees. One which I associate with many wonderful childhood memories. My friends and I spent many afternoons sitting on the branches of an old magnolia on our street.

$150 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

pit bull terrier portrait

2008-06-07T10:45:00.001-04:00

5" by 7" daily pastel painting, unframed

Athena is my son's dog and she dispelled any myths I've heard about bit bulls aside from their strength. She's all muscle and slobbery sweet.
She's also a ham in front of the camera.

$180 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

tenderness

2008-06-05T14:52:00.000-04:00

10" by 3" daily pastel painting, unframed

This is an older piece that is part in a series of statue paintings which I attempted to "bring to life" with color.
Framing enhances it really well.

$150 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

Volpi - dog portrait

2008-06-02T10:13:00.004-04:00

8" by 10" daily pastel painting, unframed

Volpi was my friend Lucio's dog.
This painting is available for purchase. If you are interested in commissioning a painting of your pet you can visit my other website.

$170 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

Sebastian

2008-05-29T15:32:00.000-04:00

11" by 14" pastel painting, unframed

A commissioned piece that I started a couple of months ago and mailed out today.

If you are interested in having a portrait painted of your pet please visit my website for pet paintings - pastelpup.com

lily pastel painting

2008-05-28T21:11:00.001-04:00

5" by 7" daily pastel painting, unframed

The gardens are in bloom! it's been a long winter and I'm inspired by all the flowers blooming. Although the lilies are only in their bud stage I have photos from last year and I'm waiting for this years blooms.

$130 with free shipping and handling in the US.
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

Arizona sky

2008-05-25T14:17:00.003-04:00

10" by 4 3/4" daily pastel painting, unframed

I was looking through my Arizona photos and found one of our drive from Scottsdale up to Sedona on Route 17. I'm getting psyched for my New Mexico trip. A little practice painting of red rock seems appropriate.

$120 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

garlic still life

2008-05-15T11:22:00.003-04:00

8" by 8" daily pastel painting, unframed

Definitely a food I can not do without.

$150 including shipping.
Click here to purchase through paypal.

billowing clouds

2008-05-12T11:00:00.002-04:00

5" by 8 1/2" daily pastel painting, unframed

I've always been drawn to clouds. When I was a child my mother and I spent countless hours watching the different formations. We didn't have much in the way of entertainment in those days ;-)

$150 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

click here to purchase through PayPal.

grieving statue

2008-05-08T01:50:00.002-04:00

8 1/2" by 5" daily pastel painting, unframed
surface: watercolor paper

I painted this in 2006 and recently decided to sell it. It was part of a series of cemetery statues. My goal was to bring life to them by adding color to the stone.

This particular one is part of a tombstone in Italy. Her arms were resting on the top edge.

$150 with free shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

hot cocoa daily painting

2008-05-06T01:22:00.006-04:00

7 1/2" by 51/2" daily pastel painting, unframed

I stay up fairly late at night and although I always enjoy a cup of coffee, if I had it late I'd be up 'til morning. Hot cocoa is a nice alternative.
This piece reminds me of a chilly winter day when a hot cocoa is the perfect drink.
The original has a bit more contrast. I'll try a new scan in the morning.

$150 with free shipping and handling in the US
to purchase please click here.

jam sandwich

2008-05-04T13:00:00.003-04:00

7" by 5" daily pastel painting, unframed

I finally got around to finishing this piece. It was one of the biggest challenges I've had in a while. The grape chunks are really big so I'm guessing if you take a bite it will be very sweet.

$150 with free shipping and handling in the US.
click here for purchasing information

This weekend the Blackstone Valley Art Association of which I'm a member, had their spring show. I won first place in my category for my Whistle painting and honorable mention for Pleasure of Rain.

Painting Giveaway Winner

2008-05-03T11:02:00.004-04:00

We have a winner for the free painting giveaway!
Actually I have 3 winners to announce. Since I received many entries and nearly the same amount for each of the three paintings to choose from, I decided to have my mother draw 2 more names from the basket.

The winner of the painting "French Village" is Joan from San Jose, CA.

The painting "Mini Landscape" will be going to Diana in Seaford, NY.

Adam from Corpus Christi, TX will be receiving "Blue Apple".

You will be receiving your paintings next week.

It was fun seeing the different names and places arriving in my "mailbox". Thank you for your emails and the nice comments. Some of your names were familiar and some of you have purchased paintings from me in the past. I am happy to know that you are still watching my blog. New watchers - welcome.

For those of you who didn't win this time I'll be having another Free Painting Giveaway in June so stay tuned!

I’ll send an email to my mailing list to let you know when the next giveaway starts.
Thanks for participating!

goldfish daily painting

2008-05-02T11:50:00.004-04:00

8" by 5 1/2" daily pastel painting, unframed

I think it's a goldfish.
When I'm limited on time a fish is a perfect subject and I really enjoy painting them.

$120 including shipping in the US
Please email me for international shipping rates.
click here to purchase through PayPal.

Stay tuned for winner of the painting giveaway. I'll make the announcement tomorrow.

Daily Paintings by Ria Hills

old self/new self

We Have a Winner!

chocolate bar painting

three yolks egg painting

egg yolk

hard boiled

cracked egg

underwater

New Blog and FREE PAINTING giveaway

Dipper - dog portrait

pond koi

magnolia bud pastel painting

pit bull terrier portrait

tenderness

Volpi - dog portrait

Sebastian

lily pastel painting

Arizona sky

garlic still life

billowing clouds

grieving statue

hot cocoa daily painting

jam sandwich

­ Painting Giveaway Winner

goldfish daily painting

Painting Giveaway Winner