What's in a title?

Posted by Amie Gonser on

Something I often struggle with is titling my artwork. Every now and then, the perfect title pops into my head as I am painting the scene. But, that doesn't happen very often. Usually I am struggling to come up with a creative title after the painting is completed. Sometimes I add the location into the title or draw on what is in the scene. While other times I think more on the feeling given by the scene or even what I was thinking or feeling when I created the artwork. Often I will send the image to friends and ask for suggestions. Titling artwork is important. I feel that viewers may be drawn more to the artwork if they are able to relate to the subject, as well as its title. The title of the piece, I believe, is like the icing on the cake, the finishing touch that says, "Yes, it is complete". 

The title of this artwork is, "The Other Side". This was an instance when a title came to me while I painted the artwork. I drew on the well known phrase, "The other side of the tracks". This idea that railroad track divides neighborhoods, and one side might be less worthy or respected than the other.  It is also a metaphor for many things which divide people in the world, such as race, economic status, family ties, politics, etc. Yeah, I know, its deep stuff. All packaged neatly into this railroad scene. Not all of my titles are so deep. And I am sure many times the viewer doesn't read too much more into the titles given. But, as I said before, they are like the icing on the cake. :)


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