diff --git a/libs/hwui/DisplayListRenderer.cpp b/libs/hwui/DisplayListRenderer.cpp
index 07daa3b..0b8f7e6a 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/DisplayListRenderer.cpp
+++ b/libs/hwui/DisplayListRenderer.cpp
@@ -248,9 +248,7 @@
 }
 
 status_t DisplayListRenderer::drawLayer(Layer* layer, float x, float y) {
-    mLayers.add(layer);
-    mCaches.resourceCache.incrementRefcount(layer);
-
+    layer = refLayer(layer);
     addDrawOp(new (alloc()) DrawLayerOp(layer, x, y));
     return DrawGlInfo::kStatusDone;
 }
diff --git a/libs/hwui/DisplayListRenderer.h b/libs/hwui/DisplayListRenderer.h
index 50e552f..19f7eb6 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/DisplayListRenderer.h
+++ b/libs/hwui/DisplayListRenderer.h
@@ -271,6 +271,12 @@
         return copy;
     }
 
+    inline Layer* refLayer(Layer* layer) {
+        mLayers.add(layer);
+        mCaches.resourceCache.incrementRefcount(layer);
+        return layer;
+    }
+
     inline SkBitmap* refBitmap(SkBitmap* bitmap) {
         // Note that this assumes the bitmap is immutable. There are cases this won't handle
         // correctly, such as creating the bitmap from scratch, drawing with it, changing its
diff --git a/libs/hwui/Layer.cpp b/libs/hwui/Layer.cpp
index 2998535..7f4977a 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/Layer.cpp
+++ b/libs/hwui/Layer.cpp
@@ -75,6 +75,13 @@
         return true;
     }
 
+    const uint32_t maxTextureSize = Caches::getInstance().maxTextureSize;
+    if (desiredWidth > maxTextureSize || desiredHeight > maxTextureSize) {
+        ALOGW("Layer exceeds max. dimensions supported by the GPU (%dx%d, max=%dx%d)",
+                desiredWidth, desiredHeight, maxTextureSize, maxTextureSize);
+        return false;
+    }
+
     uint32_t oldWidth = getWidth();
     uint32_t oldHeight = getHeight();
 
diff --git a/libs/hwui/LayerRenderer.cpp b/libs/hwui/LayerRenderer.cpp
index bb02286..8451048 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/LayerRenderer.cpp
+++ b/libs/hwui/LayerRenderer.cpp
@@ -222,6 +222,21 @@
         return NULL;
     }
 
+    // We first obtain a layer before comparing against the max texture size
+    // because layers are not allocated at the exact desired size. They are
+    // always created slighly larger to improve recycling
+    const uint32_t maxTextureSize = caches.maxTextureSize;
+    if (layer->getWidth() > maxTextureSize || layer->getHeight() > maxTextureSize) {
+        ALOGW("Layer exceeds max. dimensions supported by the GPU (%dx%d, max=%dx%d)",
+                width, height, maxTextureSize, maxTextureSize);
+
+        // Creating a new layer always increment its refcount by 1, this allows
+        // us to destroy the layer object if one was created for us
+        Caches::getInstance().resourceCache.decrementRefcount(layer);
+
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
     layer->setFbo(fbo);
     layer->layer.set(0.0f, 0.0f, width, height);
     layer->texCoords.set(0.0f, height / float(layer->getHeight()),
@@ -243,14 +258,11 @@
         layer->setEmpty(false);
         layer->allocateTexture(GL_RGBA, GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE);
 
+        // This should only happen if we run out of memory
         if (glGetError() != GL_NO_ERROR) {
-            ALOGD("Could not allocate texture for layer (fbo=%d %dx%d)",
-                    fbo, width, height);
-
+            ALOGE("Could not allocate texture for layer (fbo=%d %dx%d)", fbo, width, height);
             glBindFramebuffer(GL_FRAMEBUFFER, previousFbo);
-
-            Caches::getInstance().resourceCache.decrementRefcount(layer);
-
+            caches.resourceCache.decrementRefcount(layer);
             return NULL;
         }
     }
@@ -272,7 +284,6 @@
             layer->texCoords.set(0.0f, height / float(layer->getHeight()),
                     width / float(layer->getWidth()), 0.0f);
         } else {
-            Caches::getInstance().resourceCache.decrementRefcount(layer);
             return false;
         }
     }