February 1, 2017 – What is in a name?

“The Magnolias,” as Sue has dubbed our group of artists, are having a show at the Sausalito Presbyterian Church and in preparation, Marilee asked for help naming a painting of hers.  It’s a somewhat abstract painting of leaves in a wonderful collection of colors – Marilee’s full-spectrum palette.  My first hit was that I would not be descriptive and include the word “leaves.”  There is a soft, gentle quality to it and, if it were my painting, I’d name it something more essential – a qualitative description.  She came up with the title “Kindness” – something that we can certainly use more reminders of.  Then on Sunday, during our Painting our Prayers time, Marilee’s painting’s title came up and Jan was asked why I said this.  I loved being asked – it gave me a chance to pause and consider what is in the name of a painting, how we name them, whether to be literal or poetic, when and why.

What I saw was this:  though the visual impression is primary and most important to the viewers of our art, the names we give to our paintings can broaden, deepen and enrich their experience.  I also saw that the titles I’ve given to my paintings have undergone an evolution, just as my painting has.  The shift in how I name my paintings has reflected my stepping into being an artist and a messenger in an even more intentional and overt – even public – way.

For the first years I gave my paintings mostly descriptive titles:  Honey Bee and Rugosa Roses, Squash Blossom and Bee, Queen Anne Cherries.  Often there was another element in the description besides the thing I painted, too.  I included the weather or season to put the painting in a particular time: “Persimmon Rain,” “Persimmon Sun,” “Apricots in the Sun,” “Mid-summer Zin,” “Apple Blossom Spring,” “Rhododendron Raindrops.”  The spirit of place plays a significant part in my art – so there are those titles:  “Paris Roses,” “BJ – First Tahoe Swim,” “Tropical Peaches,” “Southside Lily Pond.”  And, people in my life have inspired titles:  “Nancy’s Rose,” “Roses for Annie,” “Twin Dahlias” (for my nieces, Nicole and Kiersten).  There is one exception to this.  In naming the painting I called “Blue Door” I could have included something about its place – a village in southwest France. But, that I didn’t turned out to be even better.  The title didn’t interfere in the imaginations of the people who were drawn to the painting.  I’ve heard different people say they see that blue door as a place in Mexico, Italy, France, Spain, Greece – Tunisia even!

I could have called “Full Circle,” one of my earliest paintings, “Roses in a Jar.”  But this one holds a special place in my body of work (it’s the only one so far that I’m certain I don’t want to ever sell) – it needed a title that would reveal this.  The name “Full Circle” is a cue to read the underlying story of how that glass jar had come into my life and what the painting symbolized to me. Others that followed in this vein were inspired by:  a song (“Touched by the Sun”), an election (“Blossoming Hope,” and by my favorite color (“A Celebration of Pink”).

When I gave a painting the title “Grace” it started what has become a “thing” for me – to find a single word that isn’t necessarily literally descriptive, which points to something beyond the visual image.  Out came:  “Awakening,” “Radiance,” “Faith” and “Hallelujah.”  I have had help from those in my life – the paintings “Dazzling,” “Ripe,” and “Luscious” were their exclamations when seeing those just-finished paintings.  These single-word titles are hard for people to connect to my paintings, but these names honor what these paintings are to me.  We are generally teasing when we say these paintings are “my babies.”  They are not living, breathing things, but they all have meaning to me – I don’t paint anything that I cannot write a story about.  And it is my experience that they are my off-spring – as they do go on to have their own lives.  Also, they each carry a particular energy, which is due an appropriate name.  In that vein, I’m glad we are given names that have meanings and that I was named Cara, (which means both dear and friend) and not “Late-autumn Dark-Haired Female.”

About five years ago I decided to challenge myself to single-word names, not just when it worked, but with every painting.  Restrictions spark creativity, so this has led to some made-up words.  (This isn’t Scrabble, so I can do that!)  As I stretch myself with these names, made up and not, I frequently feel a bit shy about the name – it can seem presumptuous or audacious.  Even so, I’m both uncertain about the name and sure that this name is the one.  After hearing it come out of others’ mouths a few times and it settles in.  The painting becomes its name to me.  “Zinoasis” was awkward at first, now this painting is an oasis of Zinfandel and there is no other name for it.

We expose ourselves when we dare to name our work like this.  People could roll their eyes or criticize, but that’s always a risk when putting ourselves out there, revealing our deeper selves to the world.  The thing is to both protect ourselves from it (don’t listen) and to develop an inner structure that is strong enough to operate in the face of the risk.  It helps to hold the point of view that feedback is 100% about the giver of it, rather than about our work.

I finished a painting a few days ago.  The title came to me when I saw the image, before I even started painting it.  I’m calling it “Beatitude,” which I learned means “supremely blessed.”  Alluding to part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount seems like a whole lot to put on to one of my paintings.  I’ve tried to shrink back from it, as it seems like the most audacious and lofty title I’ve ever given to a painting.  I shared it with Sandy Roos in yesterday’s painting group and she loved it and encouraged me to go with it.  So, I signed it and wrote “Beatitude, copyright 2017” on the back side of the paper.  It is off to be scanned and framed – no changing it now!  I’ll share the full story behind the title when I write about the painting for the gallery on my website, but the main message is that even when things are past their prime and beaten up a bit, they are very beautiful – even supremely blessed.  All this said, I’m still shaky about this lofty name!

Straight-forward, descriptive titles are fine.  Even “Untitled” is fine.  Not every one of us is called to be a messenger – or has the interest in seeing the meaning our art carries.  Regardless, there is an in-escapable essence that emanates from our souls, which is conveyed in all that we do.  This essence, as expressed in our paintings, is our visual voice.  In consciously looking “underneath the rock” for what we might be saying with this voice, we become more aware of what we are up to.  It just might show us what it is that compels us to make this art, why we spend all these hours with our brushes and paints.

Giving my paintings meaningful titles is a form of respect for what I’m up to in this life.  It has me take my art and myself more seriously.  These names are my attempt to call attention to the energy and essence in my paintings, which might increase the impact they can make.  My coach Lissa said last week she just read a book entitled “Beauty Will Save the World.” Whether I read this book or not, today just that title is enough.  It supports how vital it is that we re-orient towards beauty as a response to what is happening in the world.  Look, see if you can see what are you saying in your work?  What flavor of beauty are you orienting towards?  It’s why you are here.

With my love,

Cara