ZOOM | Fall/Winter 2018

WORDS | NATALIE FINDLAY Riach
Cindy Riach
PEELING BACK THE PAINT
As an artist, one is always in search of the next inspiring colour, texture, element. On a recent adventure
to Alert Bay on Vancouver Island, Cindy Riach found her next creative pursuit as the beauty of the
surroundings captured her heart. The weathered boats that once journeyed out to sea in search of fish
now sit as reminders of the past. Each has developed its own unique and beautiful patina, and Riach
wanted to create that same effect with her paints.
delved into ways of reproducing the beauty time
can have on objects. Using a painting technique called
“sgraffito”—scratching back into the paint surface to
uncover hidden colours and create texture—she has
brought to life the atmosphere of the beautiful old
boats in Alert Bay, just as time, with the salt of the sea
and the force of the sun, has created layers of colours
and textures on those boats. Using her trusty palette
knife, Riach builds colour and texture, then scratches
back into it. She then adds more colour, only to
remove more of it again. Repeating this process over
and over, she brings to life the history of the boats on
her canvas.
The paintings have an aged feeling, as do the boats
that inspire Riach. The colours are deep, rich, and
vibrant. The textures are rough, imperfect, and
mesmerizing. The abstract feeling of the pieces brings
forward distant memories of what used to be. Using
pictures from her trip and the vivid feeling that Alert
Bay has left in her memories, Riach creates beautiful
pieces of art that inspire and enchant.
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SEE MORE OF CINDY RIACH’S WORK AT THIS YEAR’S SUNSHINE COAST ART CRAWL OR ONLINE AT CINDYRIACH.COM.