I went away for a week to cat sit for my daughter. I decided to use the time as an artist’s retreat where I unplugged and gave myself lots of space to be with my watercolours and do some writing.

I am a self-taught painter. I like to just “play with the paint starting with looking at the colour palette and waiting for the first colour to jump out at me. After that the rest of the colours follow suit. The first day I started with a grey palette. Not a colour I use much still it was the first one I wanted to use so I did. After about 30 minutes the painting emerged and it named itself “Layers of the Soul”.

This has me thinking about my own soul and what it means to have a soul let alone a soul with layers. How are the layers formed? Are they there from the beginning created by lifetimes of experience or are they a result of the many years spent being human here now? The colours are interesting – very earthy and grounded. Not my usual colours which tend to be blues and greens and sometimes pinks and purples.

Colour has its own emotional connection so psychologists say. Perhaps I am feeling earthy at this time – needing to be grounded and connected to the Earth. In TCM the Taoist attribute this season of the year with the element of Earth. It begins the end of August and into September. In North America we call it Indian Summer. The time when the fruits and vegetables are ripening and ready to be harvested before the long cooler winter.

I am feeling the heart of the Earth these days and also the fires that are burning around the world. What is left remains to be seen still we know from experience that out of the ashes the phoenix rises. New life forms in the forest where once there were tall trees. I wonder if the painting is more about the soul of the earth and her many layers that have formed over millions of years. Are we to survive this evolutionary time?

It seems there is a bigger question and that is do we believe in the ultimate destruction of all of humanity – not just the weak and disadvantaged – all of us. We all share the same air, same water, same soil and food. Without it we cannot survive individually or as a species. The Earth supports us. It is not our resource. What of the other relations that live on this planet with us? Will they survive the destruction we humans are causing and creating? Time will tell.

The layers of the Soul is a painting with a voice or message that is still waiting to be heard not just by me by all who encounter it. It is bold and dramatic, strong and expresses something that is mystical and without form. Perhaps it is my way of digging deeper into what is most calling to me right now. I wonder what it stirs in you.