Do you ever struggle with naming your paintings? Perhaps it comes easily to you; maybe they name themselves during or after their creation. Maybe you have some kind of system.
For me, naming paintings has generally been a bit of a challenge. Sometimes they do seem to name themselves, but often I’ll find myself mulling over possibilities and not finding anything that feels right. And I’m not a fan of ‘Untitled’!
So I’ve created a list for easy reference, and thought you might like it too. I even made us a handy printable version to keep in the studio {click here to download yours}, and a graphic to pin. 😊
Some of these lend themselves particularly well to series, and could even be a starting point for a collection rather than something that happens after the fact, thus encouraging consistency in the work. I love the idea of a series of paintings named after stars, for example.
So here’s a list I brainstormed; may it spark ideas for you!
song lyrics
The title of my painting, ‘Meet me where the wild things grow’, comes from a song by Sarah Jarosz.
lines from poems {your own or others’}
I made a painting using words from my poem ‘Peace Underneath’ a few years ago.
affirmations
This would be a wonderful way to bring extra high vibes to a piece, or a series. I like the idea of a painting called ‘I choose peace’, or ‘I freely express who I am’. For affirmation examples, see Louise Hay.
snippets of prose
Sometimes I come across a phrase in a book that hits me right in the heart. Those phrases as painting titles would be a good way to keep them around and not forget them.
fairytale themes
A few years ago I saw a series of photos based on imagined ‘what happened after’ scenarios of well known fairy tale characters. It was confronting but also thought provoking, and offers an example of a way of theming a series.
box of words
I have a box of words I’ve been cutting from magazines for years. Sometimes I use it for vision boards, and sometimes just for randomly putting words together to invent phrases.
blackout poetry
A bit meta, this one, since it would require making art before making art! But a way to create truly unique painting titles. You could even incorporate the first into the second, or use it to show the titles in an exhibition.
street names
Another way to cluster paintings together in a series. This would be cool as titles for a series based on landscapes of your local neighbourhood, for example.
album titles
Just hop onto Spotify or iTunes for inspiration! Could make for an interesting homage to your favourite bands.
feelings
In Creative Spark, one of the lessons is about creating paintings based on specific feelings. And Express It Month was about exploring that idea. Again, a great opportunity for a series; imagine a display of a range of emotions in image form in one room!
first names
This would lend itself well to figurative or portrait paintings, either real or imagined. I love the idea of a group of paintings of women, all with names like Gloria, or Betty, or Constanza. It would work with abstracts too.
well known phrases
Eg. It takes two to tango; that’s what she said; forever and a day
childhood memories
This would work well with abstracts or ‘storytelling’ paintings. I imagine a painting called ‘that time we {fill in the blank}’, for example.
themes of, or phrases from, dreams
My dream life is vivid, complex, and nightly! If you’re the same, you have a wealth of painting title ideas right there.
take inspiration from tv show episode titles
For example, the episodes of Friends used to always start ‘The one with {the}…..’. And the episode titles from Bones all follow a pattern too. Another great series option!
clusters
Eg. stars, 7 Deadly Sins, Sanskrit words. More series ideas!
existential questions
Why not use some thought provoking titles to go alongside interesting or meditative paintings? Eg. Why are we here? What does it mean? Where do the lost socks go?
joke punchlines
I’m terrible at remembering these, but it would be a great way to bring humour to your work.
favourite places you’ve been
Whether you paint them directly or create abstracts from the experience, it would be fun to guess which location each place depicted! Mexico would look very different from Iceland.
book titles
Immortalise your favourite books in paintings, literally or otherwise.
movie titles
Lots of films have simple and universal titles like Love Story, or The Way We Were, or Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
words you love
If you’re a lover of words like me, this is a great opportunity to assign them a more prominent place in your life! Iridescent, languid, hypotenuse, bohemia, cerulean, vernacular, exuberant, betwixt, mondegreen, clandestine, shimmy, coptic, cavalier, baobab.
Bible or other sacred text verses
Whether you’re religious or not, holy texts have some of the most beautiful phrases.
And if all else fails, you can always try the Abstract Art Title Generator. 😉
Any of these spark ideas for you? How do you name your paintings?
Thank you for this! I am terrible at choosing titles for my paintings! I have used phrases from poetry but this really helps. It’s a great list for mining title inspiration!
You’re most welcome Ann! My mind often goes blank so having a list of prompts helps me too. 🙂
This is wonderful! Thank you so much!
Most welcome Vickie!
This is such an inspiring list Tara, thank you so much ????
I did not think too much about naming my paintings until today when I read your post. ????
Glad it was helpful Diana!
Thank you so much. This is a huge help.
Great list. I’m going to begin keeping a special notebook just for this, because I’m terrible at coming up with something in the moment. (including pet names)
I keep a running list in my phone. 🙂 Definitely a useful resource to have! Plus it can inspire new painting ideas I’ve found, so it works both ways.
Oh yes, I can quite imagine that happening! 🙂
One of the dreams that comes back to lovingly haunt me is a painting class where the instructor gives us a common theme or title, one being “Maiden in a Garden”, another being “Jack and the Beanstalk”, then waiting to see what the class comes up with. Most are typical, some are anything but. One “Maiden in a Garden” was a little girl of about four or five handing a cut rose over the fence to a mail carrier. One “Jack and the Beanstalk” was a rusted abandoned truck jack with a bean stalk twining around it. Sometimes coming up with the title first can give you an idea for the work.
I like that idea of starting with the title!
Its a wonderful concept for painting’s title.
Truly inspirational and hugely practical ideas – thanks Tara!
Glad you found it useful Linda!
Since I don’t have a great memory I choose titles that identify the image. Useful when discussing my work at shows or in correspondence. Most memorable are the words that come to mind first.
Loving this practical approach Kitty!
Wonderful repertoire of ideas Tara. One has to much to learn from you. Many thanks. Bless you. Grateful
You’re most welcome Pratima – glad you found it helpful!
Great ideas Tara! Would there be copyright issues if a song title/lyric or quote or extract from a poem were used as an artwork title? I’ve always wondered this.
I don’t think so, but don’t quote me on that! As I understand it, you can use a short phrase but not a whole paragraph when quoting in books, so I imagine it’s similar for painting titles. You can always attribute when talking about/describing the artwork. I should probably look into this further! 😉
Thank you, Tara, for this list! I love your variety of suggestions, so clever, are you! I keep an area of my journal for listing ideas as they come to me, and after reading your suggestions I will now need a much larger area – a separate journal perhaps. ????
Love your newsletters!❤️
So glad it was helpful to you Shahar!
I love these painting title ideas! They’re so creative and inspiring. I’m definitely going to start thinking about some of these myself. Thanks for sharing!
Most welcome!
This is such an inspiring list Tara, thank you so much. I did not think too much about naming my paintings until today when I read your post.
Glad it was helpful!