"Kobe and Gianna"

The artist is currently incarcerated in Colorado. He specializes in pastels drawing.

All original artworks are created by artists previously or currently incarcerated. They use whichever materials they have access to, and prove creative ingenuity beyond the norm. These original paintings and drawings are born in the heart of a prison cell, from the hands of an outsider artist to adorn the walls of your space. Each art piece is a one-of-a-kind that not only enhances your interior but also makes you actively participate in reforming the prison and criminal justice system.

The incarcerated artist receives 50% of the sales proceeds. The artists set their own prices based on the costs of materials (it can vary greatly from one facility to another), the time spent on the piece, their experience, and simply - what they think it’s worth. Alongside with offering a financial outlet, we aim to empower their confidence and reinstitute their status as human beings - not a number behind bars. For most, art is an escape, a path to self-discovery and healing. Through art, they can reconnect with society so the gap is not so unbridgeable when they get out. Through the sales, they can stay connected with their families, afford daily commissary items, pay societal debts, relieve the economic burden on their loved ones, and save up for the release date. So they have the financial means to get ahead of reinsertion and get a fair chance at that second chance.

9" x 12" | Charcoal & pastel on toned paper

My name is Jared Riley and I’ve been in prison for 10 years. I started to become interested in art immediately in a very primitive way. I was in “the hole” for my first few years so I had nothing but free time. Sometimes months would pass without my even touching a pencil. I started to get serious in 2017. I was using pencils and grinding up colored pencils for paint. I had to get creative. My mom still has my first attempts at “watercolors”. Bless her! I hope no one ever sees them. I am intellectually inclined so I began reading, learning theory, and technique, and I still do. What I love about art is that it requires me to step into terra incognita, away from feeling I am in control or what I understand, and it rewards boldness. Art allows us to communicate beneath the verbal and to describe the world as an artist. I don’t want to show the world as it is. I’m an inefficient camera. Thousands and thousands of artists can do a picture and it will look just like the photo, 100% realism. There is but one Degas, one Monet, one Lovett, and that is what I’m seeking. I’m working on “style” and I’ll get it. I want to be me. I want to have a style as unique as my face or my fingerprint. I want others to see and understand what I am feeling and communicating. That friends, is art to me!..

www.scourgedus.com