How I Name My Paintings
Last Weekend In Paris | Nan Dawkins
Someone recently asked me about the unusual title of one of my paintings, so I thought I would write about my process for naming paintings. For me, the title relates to the why: Why am I painting this? What am I thinking about? What resonates with me about this scene? What am I noticing most strongly? Hence, the title is often forming in my my mind from the first moments of the painting. As I think this through, I realize that naming the piece is essentially an act of self-reflection, which is one of the great gifts of art and a key reason I am so drawn to put paint on canvas. The whole act of making art is, for me, a way of digging deep — emotionally, psychologically and spiritually.
Below are 5 examples of how I have titled my paintings in the past.
1.) My first thought when I am drawn to a particular scene
If I’m painting outdoors (plein air) I try to pay close attention to why I'm responding to a particular scene. Often a random thought will come to me that I end up using as a title. For example, I painted a sunrise scene on Lake Superior in Michigan just after I found out that a loved one's cancer was in remission. It was early in the morning, the sun was just up over the water and I asked myself the usual question before I started my study: "Why am I drawn to this?" The answer came to me immediately: "Because it really is going to be ok"; this became the title of the painting.
2.) What the subject's expression communicates
I sometimes title a portrait as simply the name of the subject (names are powerful communicators), but sometimes there is an expression that seems to speak volumes, and I go with that instead. For example, one of my musician portraits (of a child) is titled Contemplative Composition.
3.) A description of what the scene symbolizes, or an image it conjures in my mind
Sometimes when I am in the process of painting, I suddenly realize that there is a symbolic aspect to the scene I have chosen. For example, in "Sunday Service" a tiny church sits on the dock of a harbor in Brittany. A line of boats are docked in the harbor just in front of the church, which reminded me of parishioners in the front pews. A lone boat is anchored separately, in the foreground, which called to mind the back row of a Sunday service.
4.) A person I was thinking of when painting
Once in awhile, a person will come to mind quite strongly when I'm in the midst of painting, even if the scene had nothing to do with that person . When this happens, I often name the painting for the person who was dancing around in my thoughts while I painted. For example, "Christine's Bluebird" or "Polly's View" or "Bernadette's Garden".
5.) What I've painted
Sometimes I keep it simple and just describe what I've painted. "Last Weekend in Paris" was exactly that: a moment in Paris that turned out to be the last time I would visit there with my sister.
Of course, every artist is different. Here are some thoughts from fellow artists on how they title their work:
Artist Susan Mark used a book of poems from TS Eliot to inspire and name one of her collections.
Rachael McCampbell creates a mixed bag of phrases and words for her painting titles, then randomly chooses them—mixing and matching in a way to create a unique thought or impression.
And finally, Tracey Hewitt suggests keeping a designated place for titles of paintings as they come to you. Check out some of her ideas for titling paintings.