How to Title Your Artwork: 7 Creative Strategies for Artists
How to name a painting to invite your collectors into the story through your artwork titles!
Titling your artwork can be one of the most challenging parts of the creative process. We’ve all been there—staring at a finished piece and settling for a generic description because our brain feels "painted out." But a title is more than a label; it’s a bridge. It’s your chance to elevate the viewer's experience with just a few words.Here are 7 easy tips to help you move beyond the obvious and find a title that resonates.
As a professional artist with over 25 years exhibiting worldwide... it's hard to pull ideas from thin air. This is why i started thinking about it differently - to help me get to the soul of my artwork. I hope this helps you too!
WATCH / LISTEN to How to pick a great title for your artwork on Youtube:
1. Tell us a story: Think about wording your title in a way that describes beyond the obvious imagery being used! Think about the content of your painting…what is the story going on here? In, "Cooling Off" (oil, above) This painting is a tribute to the animals who grace our landscape, endure the heat and wind and snow. A tribute to their endurance and fortitude. They fertilize the fields and aerate the soil. They have fed and clothed us for centuries. It’s also a tribute to the farmers male and female, who do their part to care for them especially a nod to those who raise them with respect and kindness and find their own sanctuary therein. I also wanted to create a classic oil painting that had a timeless feel to it. A little bit of a nod to 17th century Dutch pastoral painters and oil painters who recorded and documented farming and agriculture centuries ago.
The Tip: Ask yourself: What is the story going on here?
2. Engage the other senses: Can you tell us about what we might hear, sense, feel, smell or even taste if we were right in there? In my watercolour “Heart of Gold” (SOLD) a portrait of our gentle (now 15 yr old) Beagle Mylo, I wanted to capture his alertness and his ever curious energetic eyes, while showing his age with a weighty restfulness to his body and of course, those magnificently soft velvet ears. I love how the sunbeam he’s lying in enhances his deep amber eyes soft with age, and his fur now frosted with white hairs shimmering in the light.
The Tip: Use words that describe texture, sound, or temperature to make the piece feel immersive.
3. Make us laugh:
At first glance, a painting may seem somewhat predictable … that surely is the LAST thing you want to have… adding a quirky title that makes the viewer smile could be a game changer
4. Invite us to take a step closer:
Is there something small and wonderful going on in the painting that you want to draw attention to? Some tiny details that could be overlooked upon first glance? In “Ghost Hunters” ( SOLD) I wanted to do just that. The title refers to the nickname given to the snowy owl or “ghost”. I’ve always been fascinated by their ability to be so silent, so stealthy. The painting was already almost complete in my mind before I decided to insert the owl and mouse. I wanted the light to catch something special however. I needed more story and for our eye to rest on something. Farms like these with broken fences, rusted out machinery, missing tin and broken window panes offer so many fascinating possibilities and there’s always something going on deeper below the surface. Some critters who can animate the scene and really breath life into it. So, although the barn is the dominant force here, I wanted to have the viewer search the scene …much like a hunter would looking for signs of life.
The Tip: Think like a hunter looking for signs of life. Guide the viewer's eye to the "secret" of the painting.
5. Speak from the heart. When we convey a message, or share a tender moment of vulnerability we draw the viewer into a more intimate storyline. “Heart Whispers” I wanted to share this quiet, magical exchange between this huge horse and it’s tiny human companion. That unspoken bond, unconditional love and trust between a young girl and her gentle giant; their hearts beat as one. Perfect Communion. Magic.
6. Dedicate it: “Peonies for Dad” ( featured in International Artist Magazine). It was Father’s Day and I was visiting my father with my siblings. He was living alone at the time and I had noticed peonies growing in his rather un-manicured yard. I picked a few of the fallen heads, heavy from an early morning rain. He didn’t have a vase so I grabbed an old jam jar and placed it on his worn out oak table. By mid afternoon, the sun came out and we all enjoyed a beautiful day. When we went inside the jar was glowing and I quickly grabbed my camera before the moment passed. I had illuminated the flowers by salvaging them and in return, “Peonies for Dad” became the perfect painting the moment they were illuminated through the afternoon sunlight
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7. Use a line from an old poem:
Finally, if you really struggle for the right words, try looking up a line from a song or poem that my do the trick!
I keep a copy of Mary Oliver’s 'Devotions' on my desk specifically for those days when my own words fail. A single line from her can spark an entire title series!
Here are some others BOOKS that may help infuse your work or a series of work with endless inspirational titles (and subject matter).
We artists LOVE using real tangible paper and beautiful pens don't we?
You can keep a notebook where you can jot down names as they come up - while you are in the garden, on a country drive or in the middle of creating a painting. Why not jot it down with a smoooooth black ink pen in a beautiful NOTEBOOK rather than dictating into your phone?
A Note : I love sharing these resources to help you succeed!
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