I have recently been thinking about the journey I have taken in my life and how like a painting with many layers it doesn’t always make sense in the moment but as we trust the process of creating, the final picture comes together and makes sense. You start with a simple undercoat—often nothing more than a rough sketch of shapes and shadows—and then gradually build tonal values, refine colours, and add those final glazes that make the image glow. As I paged through the snapshots of my latest work, I couldn’t help but see a mirror image of my own life story: each stage, each coat, each correction brings us closer to the person we’re wanting to become.
1. The Undercoat: Laying the Foundation
Just as every painting begins with an undercoat, our lives start with the essentials—our upbringing, our early experiences, our first tastes of joy and sorrow. This foundational “undercoat” isn’t flashy. It might feel unfinished or raw, but without it, nothing else can stick.
Reflection: What are the core beliefs and experiences that form your personal undercoat?
Tip: Acknowledge and honour those early layers, even if they seem imperfect. They’ve given you the texture you need to hold all the colour and detail that follows.
2. Blocking In: Finding Your Palette
Next comes the stage of “blocking in” shapes and broad colour areas. You define big forms, experiment with color temperature, and start to sense the mood of the piece. In life, this is when we try different paths—career choices, relationships, hobbies—just to see what “colours” feel right.
Reflection: Which chapters of your life were your boldest experiments?
Tip: Give yourself permission to block in freely. Not every choice has to be perfect; it just needs to point you in the general direction.
3. Building Form: Embracing the Middle Layers
Once the composition reads clearly, the real work begins—building form with successive layers of paint. Shadows become richer, highlights pop, and textures emerge. This is akin to the mid‑stages of our journey: we’ve committed to a path, honed our skills, and started to see results. It can feel messy—too many brushstrokes, too much going on—but it’s necessary to give the work its depth.
Reflection: When have you felt “in the thick” of life, unsure if you were getting closer or further from your goal?
Tip: Trust the process. Every layer—even the misguided ones—adds complexity and character.
4. Glazing and Refinement: Honing Your Masterpiece
The final coats of paint are all about subtlety. You glaze thin veils of transparent color to unify the palette, sharpen edges where needed, and soften where things feel too rigid. In life, this is our “glaze” period—when we cultivate wisdom, polish our gifts, and let experience smooth out our raw edges.
Reflection: What refinements have made the biggest difference in your personal or professional life?
Tip: Seek small, intentional adjustments—mindful habits, new perspectives, gentle self‑discipline—that add luminosity without overworking the piece.
5. Comparison: Why It’s Unfair to Rush
When you compare your first undercoat to someone else’s finished masterpiece, you’re setting yourself up for frustration. You wouldn’t judge a painting before it’s glazed, so don’t judge your own progress against someone else’s final layers.
Reflection: Are you holding yourself to standards that apply to someone else’s timeline?
Tip: Celebrate your current layer. Each brushstroke—however imperfect—is a step forward.
6. Embracing Your Unique Process
No two paintings unfold the same way, and no two lives travel identical journeys. The beauty lies in the layers: the choices, the detours, the corrections, and the breakthroughs. Your current coat—whether it’s fresh, muddy, or nearly there—is uniquely yours.
Challenge: Take a moment to write down three things you’ve learned in your current “layer” of life. Where are you at, are your growing and being challenged or are you stuck in a season without knowing what the next step might be?
Invitation: Share your reflections in the comments below. How are you painting your journey, one layer at a time?
The process requires faith in the Artist
Do we trust the Artist and the process he has in mind for us? Do we have a glimpse of the inspiration picture that he might have shared with us, so we have an idea what the end result might look like? Our lives are all part of a process, trusting that the Artist has the best outcome in mind for us. The process is slow, there is waiting, blending of paint, adding and subtracting of colour, but the process has been tried and tested and brings us closer to the person that he has planned for us to be.
“Life, like art, is all about embracing the layers.”
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Liezel Van der Merwe
Founder & Artist, Creativity Expanded
