Cindy Friesen-Ford Ashurst

Artist Bio:

Originally from rural Saskatchewan, Cindy now resides on Vancouver Island where she creates art from the abstract to representational, with a current focus on fluid acrylics. She has formal university training in painting and post graduate work in art therapy. Her subject matter is diverse and includes wildlife, landscapes, and other components of nature. Cindy's work is colorful, vibrant, and engaging, drawing the viewer in. She is a current active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, whose work has been awarded and can be found in local and international online art galleries.

Artist Statement:

My work varies from representational to abstract, moving between the two continuously, experimenting with the best mix of open-endedness and realism. Fluid acrylics provide the freedom to experiment with color and technique, while the brush and palette knife allow for more structure and control. My process has evolved from attempting to pour the paint in a specific shape or with a specific intent, applying stencils over fluid acrylics to enhance the piece, creating shapes with contact paper to control the flow of acrylic, to painting realistically over poured acrylics. Occasionally, I am still motivated to paint a person, animal or scene realistically to do justice to the photo or experience in front of me.

The beauty of nature around me, photographed on almost a daily basis, is the inspiration for my work. Combining the abstract with the representational is my goal in achieving artwork in which the viewer can appreciate and inform the piece with their own perceptions and experience.