To name or not to name?

Should a painting have the gift of a title, like the final flourish of a bow on a present?

So Spring is officially here – the Spring Equinox (also known as the vernal equinox) happened on Wednesday 20th March and this event marks the sun crossing over Earth’s equator, moving from south to north. On the equinox both hemispheres are receiving equal amounts of the suns rays but it means that from now on, here in the northern hemisphere, the days will get longer and summer is coming! It is a time of renewal, growth, and the promise of brighter days ahead.

In theory we should all be feeling a shift in energy as we emerge from the hibernation of winter with renewed energy. I’m not sure i’m quite there yet – recovering from a cold I lost my voice this week and have not been feeling my best, plus the weather does not seem to have my spring agenda in mind – the drizzle and grey cloud are really not living up to my spring dreams. On a more positive note I have been loving all the blossom and magnolia I have seen this week, two of my favourites alongside peony season. I hope you have had a spring in your step this week (sorry couldn’t resist!)

The spring serves as a reminder to me that just as nature finds harmony in its cycles of growth and rest, I want to capture the essence of balance in my art too. As a painter of predominantly flowers the spring also comes as a huge dose of inspiration all around me which feels great. 

This week I started to upload some of my art to Etsy and it made me question how I had named the scans of my paintings – I had definitely not given enough thought to them and it made me ponder – what is in a name? I think the act of naming an artwork should be an intentional and creative process too. A good name can deepen the connection between the artist and the viewer. 

Co-incidentally the following day a podcast popped up in my feed by Art Juice about this exact topic and Alice Sheridan (one of the lovely artists who records the podcast alongside fellow artist Louise Fletcher) believes that “A painting title is like a free gift” which I completely agree with. I believe it can shift the way that you interpret the art and reveal new context and meaning that you might never have contemplated. I have definitely felt a twang of disappointment in the past upon discovering “Untitled” next to a piece of art that I have been loving exploring. 

So I think from now on I will be taking time to name my art – I will consider the emotions it evokes and the message I wish to convey hoping to come up with a more thought provoking title than “moody floral number 24”. Most importantly I will be using my gut and intuition about what feels right. That might end up being a song or book title that I have drawn inspiration from but as long as it resonates with me I guess that’s all that really matters! 

So my question to you is – do you agree? Do you care if art has a name? Would a name make you more or less likely to purchase a piece of art? 

I would love to hear your thoughts so click below to leave me a comment.

With love,