I rediscovered my creative side last summer and have been thoroughly enjoying the transformation of one spare bedroom in our home to a studio space. I am in that room daily – sometimes only to spend 15 minutes or less and sometimes to spend hours disappearing into the colours I put on canvases. It brings me joy, but more importantly, balance.
As I was working on a piece this week that now has its fourth layer, I started thinking about the concept of layers, and how it’s played out in my own life.
Layering – at least in my experience with acrylics – can bring a great deal of depth to a painting. When I stand in front of a blank canvas, I know that whatever layers I throw onto the canvas first don’t really matter too much. I can be carefree and completely thoughtless in those early layers because I know they will be covered later by more layers. Even the messiest of paintings can become magnificent works of art with a few added layers.
Think about childhood. When we ran, laughed, played and even when we got into mischief, there were no thoughts about how any of that would impact a future us. We lived in the moment, enjoying getting our clothes covered in the paint that was a child’s life!
But those layers began to shape us… just like the early layers of a painting begin to shape its direction. Depending on the translucency or opacity of the paint I choose, I can leave elements of underlying layers in my painting. They will peek through, but take on a new life with the added layer. Or I can elect to completely hide other layers knowing they are part of the foundation of my painting but confident that they do not need to be seen to be felt.
We go through childhood building the first layers of our life with the help of external influences – our parents, family, friends, teachers and of course the world around us. But at some point, we take ownership of the direction of our life. We begin to peel back the layers, take inventory of what’s there and put thought into what must go into the next layers.
If when I paint, I just keep slopping layer after layer of paint without any thought to futures, I would end up with a cacophony of muddy colours and the viewer’s eye wouldn’t know where to look. At some stage I have to be more deliberate in understanding what to pull up from underlying layers and what to leave behind so the experience is more pleasant both for the viewer and for me, the artist.
Being deliberate in planning for our growth helps us maintain clarity as we follow a path.
But I’ve ended up with paintings that I’ve chosen to completely paint over. Something in them just didn’t “feel right” or sit well with me. Not unlike life… there are some layers we’d like to forget altogether and others we might long to bring back.
You can live with regret over some of the layers, or choose the outlook that each layer of our life’s journey lays an important foundation for the next. The layers you want to peek through will – because you will deliberately look to build upon them. The layers you’d prefer to forget you can choose not to build on… rather view them as the stepping stones that helped create the foundation of your life. They are buried beneath many layers and serve as a reminder of where you came from, but do not need to be seen to define you.
Life lesson learned:
Never regret life’s experiences! Rather regard them as the building blocks, or the layers that laid the foundation for the life you are here to live today. And for goodness sake – enjoy the journey even as you work towards the outcome that next layer will bring!
EXAMPLE BELOW: One of my paintings at the end of layer 1 and then the end of layer 2! Can you see the bits that peek through?
layer 1
layer 2