Joan ThorneYangon, 2013, Oil on canvas, 60 × 69 in (152.4 × 175.3 cm)
SHALLOW SPACE, VEILS, AND OVERLAPS
With the development of abstract art in the twentieth century, it became clear that one of the principle features of an abstract painting vocabulary would be layering. Successive applications of paint can be construed by the viewer as elements lying within a shallow depth close to the picture plane. By manipulating the transparency of the paint, the color, and the way that elements overlap each other, painters are able to control the sense of space and the dynamics of the painting across the surface. Cubist art, which generally sought to manipulate the shallow “picture space” of a painting by using selectively drawn edges of elements, also used layering to augment the space. Later artists relied on layering alone. The spatial effects arising from layering paint were particularly important for the American Abstract Expressionists. Painters such as Jackson Pollock (1912–56), Willem De Kooning (1904–97), Adolph Gottlieb (1903–74), and others built paintings by layering paint marks to create highly charged spatial relationships.
• Transparency
Layers of semitransparent paint built on top of one another will tend to create an automatic sense of depth.
• Color
By manipulating the color in successive layers of transparent paint, the artist can create rich translucencies that can take on a remarkable feeling of depth.
• Overlapping
Elements painted in opaque paint can be overlapped in layers to create a wide range of effects.
• Mixed media
Paint can be combined with collaged elements to create a physical layering.
See also: Brush Techniques on page 30
Joan Thorne
Yangon, 2013, Oil on canvas, 60 × 69 in (152.4 × 175.3 cm)
Layers in both transparent and opaque paint create a sense of shifting depth. The artist is able to confer different senses of movement for each layer, setting up a lively pictorial experience for the viewer.
