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Alayne Spafford received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors from the University of Saskatchewan. After studying textiles at Concordia University and the Centre de Metier d’Art en Construction Textile in Montreal, she worked for many years in the costume department of Cirque du Soleil. Now residing in Edmonton, Alberta, Alayne focuses on painting full time. In 2013 Alayne collaborated to form Burn Design Collective, an art technique created with shou-sugi-ban (burnt cedar). Her work is represented in galleries and private collections worldwide.

Fortyeight-3
collage, acrylic, oil
72” x 48”

See her work in WTP Vol. VIII #6

“I’ve always felt like I have a heightened sense of color. Even as a child I was fascinated by color combinations. My art is still an exploration of color but also shape, texture, movement, and how the combination of all of these elements can create something special. I intentionally create images that are non-representational and titled in number sequences specifically for that reason. My paintings begin with a spontaneous and unstructured first layer of collage, drips, scribbles, and spray paint. The next layer I add more depth and mark making. I then try to find the shapes within that. It all builds from that point and is almost never pre-planned but all happens in the process. I want people to look at my work in its most basic, primal sense: color, shape, and texture. How these elements are balanced evolves but always remains true to my artistic aesthetic. My hope is that I can evoke an instinctual emotional response in the viewer, something that is felt rather than known, without necessarily knowing why.”