INTERVIEW

In conversation with Leah Rainey on her

new exhibition “Raking Light”.

JANUARY 2025

ELISSA CRISTALL /PROJECTS

LEAH RAINEY: RAKING LIGHT @leah.rainey

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On the occasion of her first exhibition in Vancouver (December 2024- February 2025) I’m speaking with Leah Rainey about her path to contemporary art making and the curiosity that continues to drive her work.

Combining and developing paintings from a recent body of work, Rainey’s oil paintings reflect a refreshing simplicity of line and colour.

Each line and curve is chiseled and rendered with a deliberate flatness. It’s a distinct stylistic choice that merges features of collage with trompe-l’oeil; the forms and shapes present the illusion of cut-outs assembled into a floating composition.

Archaeology, oil on canvas, 24″ x 19″

What is raking light and how did it influence your new work?

Raking light is a technique in which a surface is illuminated from an oblique angle to help reveal texture and detail not visible with direct light. This is the angle of light illuminating a particular wall in my studio.

Vantage, oil on canvas, 24″ x 19″

“Playing with the idea that the composition is also a painting of the painting.”

Using thin layers of vivid colour, the vibrant surfaces of the paintings are darkened to varying degrees evoking illusions of three dimensions and a sense of depth.

I was inspired by how the work was hung within the studio (their proximity) during the process of preparing for the show. Several works are painted with the illusion that they’re made of two separate panels butted together when they are one. Playing with the idea that the composition is also a painting of the painting.

Moon Shadow, oil on canvas, 24″ x 19″

“… suggesting a topography no longer make of paint but a delicate textile cast in fading light- raking light.”

Colour, line and shape partially emerge, inviting the mind to fill in the spaces. The contrast of colour and gradual darkness draws the viewer into a surface that is made of subtle lines and refined marks, suggesting a topography no longer made of paint but a delicate textile cast in fading light- raking light.

What materials do you like to use and why?

I love paint, primarily watercolour and oils. I love the immediacy of watercolour and how delicate it feels to use. Oil paint allows for such a variety of techniques and applications. I love how sensitive it is to the tools you use, and I enjoy experimenting with a wide range of tools and ways of applying the paint.

There is a warmth and an otherworldly quality to the colours you choose. What drew you to this palette initially?

When I did my foundation course in England I focused on colour. I was away from home, homesick and I was remembering the colour of a blade of grass under the snow- the freshness of that colour. I decided to try to paint it. That started a whole project on shape and colour association and working from imagined colour.

I became immersed in mixing colour and it’s still my favourite part of painting. I enjoy surprising colour relationships but I also mix colour so that most parts of the painting relate to each other and they are made from each other.

Homage, oil on canvas, 20″ x 16″

Blueprint, oil on canvas, 20″ x 16″

How do you go from taking the seeds of an idea and transforming them into a painting?

The seeds of an idea will often be an actual reference or starting point but one that’s unclear or non-specific and holds some intrigue and possibility. Chosen intuitively, it can be extracted fragments from found images, scraps in the studio or parts of previous paintings.

The vagueness of the starting point is what makes me curious about translating whatever I’m looking at into paint. Then there’s a kind of deep looking, absorbing what I’m studying and visualizing it as a painting. I think of the process as a kind of decoding and forming a recipe for the steps I’ll take to start making the work. From there, I’m responding to the materials.

What do you hope people will experience when they look at one of your paintings?

I hope they feel a calmness and a curiosity about the work. There’s a process of making the work in carefully considered layers and subtle details that has a slow time scale built in that I hope translates to the viewer. I hope there’s something in the way it’s made that holds their attention for a little while and that the work can steal some time from the viewer. The experience of pausing and something holding your attention can be powerful when everything else is so fast-paced.

What advice would you give to a young person following in your footsteps?

Push yourself to make work that surprises you rather than sticking to what you know. Art making should evolve and encompass invention and problem solving. The pursuit should be constantly teaching you something new about materials, your process, and about you and the world you live in. Your work should present the same challenge to your audience.

Leah Rainey’s exhibition Raking Light continues to April, 2025 at Propellor Studio, Granville Island, Vancouver.

You can see the full exhibition online and view available artworks here.