#1: LOVE SANDWICH
Susan James
The layering refers to the bodies fitted together in a family hug.
#2: NATURE’S PALETTE
Susan James
The mountains fold into one another creating layers of nature.
#3: FINDING SURREALISM IN REAL LIFE
Brandon Porter
This painting has more layers than just the paint. I had an initial sketch that I painted over. After some layers and some color changes, I got this. Honestly, I didn’t put much thought or meaning into this one, I just wanted to let go a little bit and just paint. Because of letting go, this one went through various phases or you could say, through various layers on the canvas and in my head.
#4: BANDELIER
Amy Crawley
Inspired by the Ancestral Pueblo dwellings in Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, this painting relates to the layers theme in two ways. The dwellings are located in rock cliffs, accessed by ladders. The history of the Indigenous people runs deep in the layers of rock and soil. Using the memory of place and the feelings it inspired, I worked with oil and cold wax medium to create layer upon layer, developing a history through my painting process. I add and subtract elements, reveal and lose layers. I use rhythm, repetition and pattern.
#5: WORLDS ORBITING
Amy Crawley
My Portals body of work began when a family member was diagnosed with cognitive memory loss. It prompted me to think about memory. How we hold onto our memories. Why we lose our memories. Memories are like layers. Some go deep. Some only touch the surface. With a focus on the movement of spirals and circles, I draw the viewer’s eye toward the center of a space and take the viewer on a visual meditation that transports them from one place to another. Working with oil and cold wax medium to create layer upon layer, I develop a history through my painting process. I add and subtract elements, reveal and lose layers. I use rhythm, repetition and pattern.
#6: MAGRITTE’S CHAIR
#7: VAN GOGH’S CHAIR
Richard Swiatlowski
There are several layers to these paintings: concept, sketch, medium, colors, painting and finally presentation.
#8: UNTITLED
Michelle Nietupski
We all have layers. My art is no exception. The background of this piece was painted by a fellow IOM artist, Claire Doyle. I found it by the dumpster after she moved out and thought wow, is this where our art ends up when we have to move on? I grabbed the many paintings she had discarded and contacted her. She told me she took all she could and these were never completed. I love her work and was honored to be able to use them. I’ve been obsessed with using different size rollers to apply paint in layers leaving parts of the background showing. For me it’s not about what it is only that there is something interesting going on and each time you look there is more to see. This piece is one of many in a larger series using Claire’s paintings as backgrounds.
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#9: WAXED WEAVING 3: SUNSET
#10: WAXED WEAVING 2: SPRING
Patricia Jenks
These pieces were created by using an acrylic painting on paper done many years ago during a workshop. Recently I tore the painting into strips which were then dipped in a layer of encaustic medium, woven into a layered weaving and adhered to itself through heat. This was then adhered by heat to the encaustic colored wood panel. There are layers of time, color, meaning and different mediums referenced in this piece.
#11: IN FLIGHT
#12: BY THE SEA
Cindy Chandler-Guy
These pieces are monotype collages so they are one-of-a-kind originals made by layering colored inks on the ground paper and then layering hand inked and patterned papers of various weights and transparencies to create a collage.
#13: LOW TIDE
Cathy Durso
This painting exemplifies the unnoticed layers of nature hiding in plain sight beneath our feet which can be just as beautiful and moving as a grand landscape.
#14: IDOL
Meredith Jacobson Marciano
Layers of Femininity and gender identity.
#15: SOUPED TOWER
Meredith Jacobson Marciano
Layers between reality and chemical alteration.
#16: LAYERS OF THE FOREST
Russell Steven Powell
I consider Worcester native Stanley Kunitz’ poem, “The Layers”, a personal anthem, and I copy it below. It describes how life’s perpetual cycle of discovery and loss informs us.
“We seek stability in a world that is constantly moving and changing yet somehow stays the same. We often take life’s complexity for granted, but the deeper we dive into our inner and outer landscapes, more is revealed about our fundamental nature. Our character is formed as much by our losses as our gains. This is an ongoing theme as I chart my personal growth, maturity, and aging. The natural world provides a perfect metaphor.”
#17: CRAYON THEORY
Marie Tucker
For a college assignment I had to make art while blindfolded, and I chose crayons as my medium and guided my marks with a ruler. When done, I had a rainbow explosion of lines, the layers of which were transparent enough to see deeply into the rainbow. I loved it. With this piece, I still wanted impulsive movement to create a unique piece. I painted the warm glow of the sun for ultimate happiness and bright rainbow colors for the layers. The childlike joy of using the brightest colors is present in this piece. I measured the points where I would be putting tension on my lines to keep the spray of color ordered. I chose the order of colors carefully, using them each only once. Exactly where I ended one color, I started another. So, even though the colors change, the "line" doesn't break. After that, instinct directed lines. It felt fluid and playful.
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#18: GEOMETRIC
Tara Bronner
Layers of light and shape invite the observer to appear to be looking into an endless layer of lighted geometric pentagon shapes standing out against a black background.
#19: A NEGATIVE PHONE CALL
Glenn Yarnell
This piece is a combination of two images from my NH vacation this past summer. The payphone (it still works) is in a rest area. This is part of my travel experience and was captured when I stopped what I was doing for a moment.
#20: A MYSTERIOUS LIGHT
Arch MacInnes
My artistic process has focused almost exclusively on the monotype, a printmaking process that is achieved by inking an un-incised plate. In my work, each print goes through the press multiple times, each time creating a single layer. Each layer, which can consist of one or more colors, is an abstract drawing that has a balanced and discernable structure. In the completed work, the overlapping layers combine in unpredictable and intriguing ways.
#21: RED
Joan Nelson
This piece has many, many layers of paint that have built up the layers of branches around the tree.
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#22: BULLFROG
Joan Nelson
This piece has many layers of different media, starting with the pencil drawing, on top of the watercolor, then colored pencil and water soluble crayons.
#23: KENNEBUNKPORT
#24: CHILD’S PARK/12 MILE BROOK
#25: GOAT-ROCK-TRAIL/LONG LAKE
Marla Shelasky
Weaving is an over-under-over-under structure that results in a layered effect. I choose, edit and print two separate photographs that complement each other, visualizing how they might look after merging them together in the weaving process. Then, one image is cut into strips to form the warp (vertical) and the other is cut for the the weft (horizontal). The horizontal is carefully woven into the vertical and I vary the weaving patterns as I go to push and pull the darks and lights for visual effect. Looking closely, you can find small bits of hand painted paper in contrasting colors or patterns. This further draws in the viewer, layering bits of a surprise for the eye.
#26: DEAD AND DYING LEAVES
Cathy Durso
These paintings exemplify the unnoticed layers of nature hiding in plain sight beneath our feet which can be just as beautiful and moving as a grand landscape.
#27: IN THE NAME OF LOVE
Senay Asik
This is an emotional archaeological dig into how spirituality is intertwined with my family lineage shaping individual values and decisions over the years, and a quest into its role in answering current questions.
#28: BUSY BEES
Senay Asik
Women of my family are hardworking, but unsung for their contributions to family life. Growing up, I have observed how the tradition of making time-consuming dishes has been passed down to only the younger females in the family, solidifying the women’s role in family structures for future generations.
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#29: THE HEVSEL GARDENS
Senay Asik
This piece is an emotional archaeological dig into how spirituality is intertwined with my family values, and a personal quest into its role in answering current questions.
#30: MOVING WITH GRACE
Tanya Miller
This piece dives into the idea of "Layers" in both the way it's painted and what it represents. Each layer of paint builds up the elephant's story - from the deep blues and grays that shape its gentle strength, to the soft pink lotus flowers that dance around its form. Just like we all carry our experiences with us, this elephant carries its layers with quiet dignity. I built this piece layer by layer, letting each stroke of paint add to its character. The deeper tones peek through brighter colors, kind of like how our past experiences shine through in unexpected moments. The elephant, decorated with flowers and wearing its colors like stories, reminds us that there's beauty in carrying all our layers - the light and the dark, the bold and the subtle. It's about moving forward with all these pieces of ourselves, not despite them but because of them.
#31: NEYSHABUR
Minoo Khanbabai
Monumental architectural forms surrounding me during my early life in Iran were the impetus layers for this painting. With my hard-edge painting technique, I attempt to simplify the intricate arch and tile motifs to their truest essence. This type of painting is meant to exemplify the layers of rich historical influence.
#32: AMONG THE BIRCHES
Therese Desaulnier
This piece represents a departure for me in my artistic style, adding a new layer to my creativity. I have added a visual layer of texture in it that I also think echoes the layers theme.
#33: FRAGMENTS
Elizabeth Hutchinson
Each day we preserve fragments of information—most often mine are on post-it notes. There is something intriguing about the inconsequential slips of paper on which reminders of the utmost importance are written. A singular post-it note never holds the entire story as it is only a splinter of evidence, missing the context of the larger whole. It leads to a layered distortion of information. This piece consists of 16 modular chipboard squares with a post-it on each side. These scattered hints of information are then sewn together, implying how separate thoughts are indeed somehow connected, even if not fully apparent to the viewer. The form of the book further emphasizes the jumbled up “notes” of life in that it can be opened, unfolded, and refolded in various ways showing multiple perspectives.
#34: ARTIST’S BLOCK
Gary Provencher
This piece was made exclusively for the Layers show. This is my own visual portrayal of someone going through an artist’s block. Portraying my own character sitting behind a wall that’s shown going on and on, up to the clouds, and an art table seen behind it.
#35: BLOSSOM #66
Paul Cushing
This painting is abstract and color focused. It is a part of a series called Blossom or Spring is Here. Most of the work is done with paint, layered over many times or simply once to create stories and emotions with which a viewer can connect. They are meant to be seen in different lights and places for you to gain perspective that not all seem what they appear. In the process, depending on the light, you sometimes gather a deeper understanding of who you are.
#36: BUBBLES
Russell Steven Powell
The bed of river or stream is full of light and air bouncing along the shifting current, specks and atoms merging swift or slow haphazardly, animated by eddies, stones, and fish lungs.
#37: SCATTERED
Dina Spice
These pieces were done purely considering process, materials and balance. Connecting the idea of “Layers” is straightforward, as the art is built by arranging its layers of materials. This piece, although Notan-ish, breaks the rules and pieces pair more freely with this contrasting partners.
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#38: REBUILDING
Dina Spice
Inspired by the Notan design technique, a Japanese art form that balances positive and negative space, this piece is done in near-traditional Notan, although incorporating color—not simple black and white.
#39: ROSE…DECAYING LIFE
Sean Akerley
The layers of pastels blend to create a feeling of life (bright colors) and decay (darker tones). The frame creates another layer of depth, placing artwork behind glass and aged wood. The vintage window frame also brings in layers of its own, such as time, with the wood decaying and old paint worn by weather and chipping. The window glass brings small areas of clarity, but also areas left with its original grime, dust, and cracks depicting layers of time and another layer to look through at the dying rose. The re-purposing of this old window to a frame brings another layer of what something can become from what it was.
#40: ONCE PLAYED—A SIGHT OF DECAY WITH SOUNDS IN YOUR MIND
Sean Akerley
A guitar is placed behind a window frame layer. The beat up instrument is layered with damaged parts, broken strings and rust representing a rough life of rocking out…maybe “heavy metal”, represented by pieces of old rusted metal layered over the body of the guitar and background. An old heart shaped pick rest, woven between layers of broken strings, layered and weaving over and under the guitar body and metal, detracting from a life once straight and rigid. All of this to inspire thought of what the life of this guitar once was and the songs and sounds it may have played.
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#41: HARMONY
Yeukai Chiroodza
In this still life of flowers, skeletons and water in a vase, joy and rest coexist in quiet harmony. The flowers bloom above the bones of the past, their petals soft against the weight of time. Water, held in the vase, nurtures and reflects, blurring the line between growth and decay. Each layer tells a story of beauty, loss, renewal and rest, where the fleeting and the eternal intertwine in peaceful stillness.
#42: REFUGE *
Ellen Pollock
Whatever we do or experience is built upon what came before. In this piece, I used a painting by Dave Hay as the base layer. His happy fireworks became exploding bombs. Hiding from those explosions are a mother and child. The mother is trying to provide refuge for herself and her child. If this tiny family unit perishes, another layer will be built upon it. The gauze layer draped over the image expresses how impossible it is for us to perceive or imagine this terrifying experience.
* proceeds of this sale go to the nonprofit peace organization, “Standing Together”.
#43: GROWING PAINS
Emily Munsell
This piece touches on the concept of shedding one’s old skin. When we shed the parts of us that no longer serve s, are destructive, or that we simply outgrow, it can be painful. Despite these growing pains, when we shed the old, we allow for the new to grow. “Growing
Pains” was painted with layers of acrylic underpainting, liquid latex, and oils. The process of layering several materials, the visual of peeing away a layer of skin, and the piece’s inspiration all connect to the exhibition theme of layers.
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#44: SLEEPING BOY
Ellen Pollock
An old, simple pencil sketch of a sleeping child is in the process of deteriorating from the passage of time. The paper hovers over the bottom layer which depicts some of the things that happened during the intervening years…
#45: ALWAYS MORE TO PEEL
Samantha Anderson
This self-portrait represents endless layers of self-examination that fail to yield concrete answers. No matter how many layers are peeled back, the core self is still elusive, hiding behind the process of intellectual analysis. There is no end to this cycle, though there may be some fruits to reap along the way.
#46: FASHION TIES $3.99
#47: OPEN TIL 6
Jeff Wrench
We all have layers hidden beneath that surface we try to present to others. This painting is built up from imperfect and visible layers of color and newsprint. Can you see through the cracks in the façade for a glimpse of what is hidden in the depths?