The Importance of a Name

Finding the right name

I’ve always found naming paintings surprisingly difficult. Many of my earlier works had very literal titles - things like “Moose and Mountains” - which told you exactly what the painting was of, and not much more.

Recently, however, I’ve been thinking differently about titles and how much they can add to a piece. I’ve started brainstorming ideas with the help of AI. I should say upfront that I’m very much against the use of AI in the creation of art itself, but I’ve found it genuinely useful as a tool for naming work.

I’ll usually type a brief description of the painting - rather than upload an image - and then add what I feel the deeper meanings might be. From there, I’ll get a short list of suggestions which I can refine, reject, or build on by adjusting the prompts. Often I discard most of the ideas and suggest alternatives of my own; it feels less like outsourcing and more like a collaborative back-and-forth. It can take time and patience, but titles have become increasingly important to me, and now feel like an extension of the artwork itself.

When I was thinking of a name for this particular painting, above, I described it as a red and white tulip against a dark background. Although the palette is quite dramatic, the painting feels positive to me - the flower head is lifted upwards, towards the light. The lighting reminded me of theatre, with a strong spotlight isolating the subject. I also learned that tulips are light-seeking flowers, naturally turning toward a light source. I thought of the flowers often thrown on stage at the conclusion of a play in celebration of a performance.

“Seeking the Spotlight” was the name I finally settled on. It summons up thoughts of the theatre and dramatic performances. It is both literal - the flower will seek out the light - and metaphorical - light can be found even during dark moments and perhaps we can even be at our best, and should be celebrated, during such times.

“Seeking the Spotlight” adds a layer of meaning that something like “Tulip on a Black Background” simply couldn’t.