Have you ever seen a piece of art in a gallery or a museum and wondered about the title of it or been so drawn into the visual that you try to tie the title to the piece? A good deal of artists don't name their pieces because for everyone a piece of art could have a different meaning. In studying art of the great masters, I found the titles intriguing because upon first view of a painting I would assess what I thought was being expressed in the painting only to find out the artist had an entirely different intention. Intention is what drives the title of a piece of art. Understanding what an artist has intended for you to see or to reflect on. The beautiful part of art for me is that it encompasses so many emotions that are evoked by the artist in the expression or statement they are trying to convey through their work. I love creating art with my grandchildren and my grandson once painted a red circle on his canvas with a letter "s" in the center of the circle. I ask him, "What are you going to call this?" He leaned back and paused for a moment, then said, "I call this one "Skittle". It was very obvious to me then that his title for his painting was right on point and he was very much thinking of his favorite candy. I love this memory and the intention behind the name. I find that there are many times I will identify one of my paintings to just use the title as a catalog for inventory. An example is in the abstract to your left. I created that painting with the inspiration of my flowing thoughts with the paint and mixing of color. The intention was a blending of color and the direction it took as I moved my brush across the canvas. It seems that there should be some deep dark message or statement but, for me it is about creating a painting that creates interest and challenges the mind to see past the obvious.
