Rising Stars: Meet Riley Vaughn of Downtown Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Riley Vaughn.

Hi Riley, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hello, My name is Riley Vaughn (37). I am a painter based in Downtown Los Angeles.

I’m an artist who’s really interested in staying open and curious. A lot of my work comes from wanting to protect a sense of play and honesty; making things without overthinking or worrying about whether they’re “right.” I’m drawn to moments that feel unfinished or slightly off, because that’s usually where something real shows up.

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago in the 90’s, where Saturday mornings meant cartoons and cereal, and afternoons were spent playing backyard baseball and racing home before the street lights came on. Those early rhythms of unstructured time, imagination, and small daily rituals continue to shape how I work and how I think about making art.

I didn’t set out to become a painter after high school. I went to Colombia College in Chicago to study filmmaking. It seemed like a creative career that had “job potential.” I fell in love with making films because of my love for skateboarding. I thought it would be a way for me to be around skateboarders, have fun, get into trouble and make a living. Being in a narrative-based film program however was detrimental to my creative process. I didn’t want to tell stories in a linear, narrative way, if at all. I found myself making more and more abstract, Avantgarde style short films which eventually pushed me in the direction of fine art. I wanted to use my art as a journal. To tell my stories the way I saw them, heard them, felt them. Filmmaking is such a collaborative art form and I felt like my side of the story was being lost, overlooked or overshadowed by the many other ideas in the room. I never lost my sense of creativity but stopped making art regularly for almost a decade. When my desire to create resurfaced, I knew filmmaking wouldn’t be my medium. I wanted to tell my stories my way. Painting seemed to give me the freedom to accomplish that.

Community has also become a huge part of my practice. After losing my studio space in Silverlake, what felt like a struggle at the time pushed me to pivot. I created a space called All Together Now located in DTLA which is now home to seven artists. We work collaboratively, bounce ideas off each other, and support one another creatively. That shift into a shared environment deeply changed how I think about making and sharing my work.

Four years later, All Together Now has grown into an active creative hub. We’ve curated fine art exhibitions, hosted theater performances, screened films by local filmmakers, and established an annual ATN Group Show that includes a guest artist. We also curate The Lobby Gallery for DTLA ArtNight.

At its core, the practice is driven by a simple intention: to create space for freedom. I want to allow people to let themselves draw with their “left hand” to move through the world with less fear, less control, and more trust in instinct.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road hasn’t been easy by any means. I’ve had to prioritize my practice over almost everything in my life. I use painting to tell me story, connect with people and impact my community. I look at struggles more as opportunities.

There will always be obstacles, but where there is a challenge there is an opportunity to grow.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My art practice began as a way of holding onto play. Drawn to painting not as a polished skill but as a form of permission, I developed a visual language rooted in instinct, repetition, and emotional honesty. Early on, drawing and painting functioned less as finished products and more as spaces to experiment; where rules could bend, images could overlap, and mistakes were allowed to stay.

I’d love to invite you all to the opening of my solo exhibition, “KidLike.” Hosted by Hot Tongue Pizza (2590 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, CA) the opening reception is Saturday January 31st, 2026 from 6pm to 9pm.

KidLike is a solo exhibition that explores what it means to return to a younger way of seeing, before rules were fixed, before things had to make sense. Through figurative abstraction and intuitive line, the work embraces play, imperfection, and emotional honesty as a way of reconnecting with the inner child.

The paintings feel remembered rather than observed. Faces overlap, objects drift, and familiar scenes depicted; tables, chairs, snacks, drawings appear slightly off, as if recalled mid-thought. The work resists polish in favor of freedom. As the artist describes it, “I want people feel that its ok to draw with their left hand” to create, look, and feel without fear, worry, or the pressure to get it right.

Rather than recreating childhood, KidLike focuses on what endures: curiosity, softness, humor, and the willingness to try without knowing the outcome. The work invites viewers to loosen their grip on certainty and reconnect with a more instinctive, open way of being.

Installed inside Hot Tongue Pizza in Silver Lake, the exhibition intentionally blurs the boundary between art and everyday life. The casual, communal setting reinforces the show’s central idea; that play doesn’t belong only in the past, and that seriousness isn’t required for something to be meaningful.utilizing a unique style of mixed media, texture, and in-your-face colors to create a conversation between himself and the viewer.

Date: Saturday January 31
Time: 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Location: 2590 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, CA (HOT TONGUE PIZZA)

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Authenticity.

Authenticity is important to me because it allows space for play and honesty. When I’m not worried about getting things “right,” I can work more instinctively and stay open to what’s actually there. My paintings aren’t about presenting a finished or perfected version of myself; they’re about letting things be real. That’s where I feel the most freedom, and where I think people can connect most easily.

When something becomes overly polished or self-conscious, play disappears. I hope my work pushes back against that by valuing instinct over correctness, like drawing with your left hand. Authenticity keeps the work alive, curious, and open-ended

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rileyvaughn.com
• Instagram: @riley_vaughn