Layers

I’ve been thinking a lot about layers recently.

If you visualize our “selves” as a collection of layers, like a tall stack of pancakes, or (if you are of a certain age) a stack of vinyl LPs on the spindle of a turntable, over time we accumulate a lot of layers. Not only in years, but in experiences, professions, partners, belief systems, and so on and on… And in the end, others only see the stack as a whole. The individual layers are often hidden.

I think of that sometimes as I’m slapping on new layers of paint. Some are light and barely noticeable at first. Maybe a soft glaze to take the edge off a horizon, or a more substantial reworking of the overall composition. And then there are the bold slashes of color that catastrophically change the direction of the painting altogether. But, in the end, the viewer is aware of only the finished piece.