How Do You Come Up With A Title For Your Paintings?

Sometimes a title for a painting just comes to me but most times I struggle with naming/giving a title to a painting. I've read in many art business blogs and newsletters that a title is important to establish a rapport with the viewer but sometimes it's just beyond me to come up with a good one!

For instance, the last two paintings I've done are still without titles. I want to post them on FAA and other places but feel they would do better with catchy names so really can't post them until I settle on something for each painting. (BTW - the two paintings are the two "cowboys" - the dark one and the one of my husband dressed as one. Any help gratefully accepted!)

The painting of my husband dressed as a cowboy is especially difficult as he thinks he has an input into titling this one! lol I thought of maybe "Contemplating the South Forty" or something along those lines but he thought "Hey, Y'all - Who Stole My Cows!" was better! Well, not really but he did suggest that for a title! Now can you see what I'm up against?!!! (I married him because he was funny)

And giving a title to the "Dark" cowboy is worse as it seems any descriptive title has already been used and usually more than once!

So, how do you come up with a title for your paintings? Any ideas for my two recent ones?

I'm looking at titles that would work for search engines while keeping them personal also, but I haven't found one yet. I'll keep trying.

If you log in to FFA and click on the "Home" link, look along the left side and scroll down to "TODAY" and under that you will find "Popular Keywords." Sometimes that gets me started on a title.

Judy

Thanks, Judy! I hadn't thought to check popular key words but that's a great idea!

One of my brothers in law came up with "Campfire Thoughts" for the Dark Dude and my husband suggested "I Can See Clearly" for the one of him.

I'm sure something will just come to mind for both of them eventually! Gonna whine a little and say between backgrounds and titles, painting is hard! lol


Came back to edit this with a link to a Wet Canvas discussion: A link from TimeLady seemed really interesting but here's the link to the whole thread:

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=945104

and another link to Empty Easel, that I subscribe to: http://emptyeasel.com/2009/04/27/keyword-targeting-for-artists-a-simple-yet-comprehensive-guide-for-beginners/

Maybe we can all describe each others paintings to come up with key words or something since it's hard to do our own.

Coming up with a title has not been difficult for me... as I don't ask my wife for suggestion on it... .

I put up what comes to me without to much struggle... sometimes it works and sometimes it is just plain... but I don't struggle... I just live with it... I guess I am lazy about this that way...

Good Luck Jan..

Sometimes a title comes to me right away, and sometimes not. The hardest ones for me are landscapes with somewhat ambiguous visuals, for example a series of paintings that shows sunlit trees on a road. "Bright leaves #1"?

I think the name is more important with conceptual work than realism. Also, if you have painted a specific location that you want to identify, the name helps the viewer. I don't think there is an easy answer.

Thanks to both of you. Alan, I'm with you and sometimes the title comes right away and sometimes it doesn't. I don't know if a title is more important for a conceptual piece though, as I really think a title for a work of any art is somewhat like a book title and can be used to draw the viewer in deeper. I think that's what you meant though - it helps to use a title to get people to look closely at a conceptual piece.

Well, I'll just plod on and do the best I can with future pieces - I think the current ones now have titles!

My least favourite titles for conceptual pieces are 'untitled #1', 'untitled #2' etc.
The title can give some type of shape to the interpretation of the work. Even if it is intentionally vague, it can allow the viewer to explore the work and draw their own connections in it with some little guidance from the title.