Seafront II, Two Deckchairs and a Blue Towel or I Should Keep Better Records

 Two Deckchairs and a Blue Towel - 10" x 7" - Watercolour

The trouble with bland, prosaic titles is that they are not memorable consequently there is a risk of using the same title twice. I knew an American artist, an exquisite painter, who kept a book of titles. If she thought, overheard or read a phrase that appealed to her she would write it down and use it when the right painting came along. I envied her for this. Her titles were poetic and almost as beautiful as the paintings. My titles are either simply for cataloguing purposes or perhaps to demystify the paintings or maybe to make them more mysterious, I am not sure which.

This painting was originally titled “Seafront II” until I realised that I had another painting with the same title which is coincidentally featured in an earlier post entitled "Some More Oars". I renamed it “Two Deckchairs and a Blue Towel” but I have this nagging doubt in the back of my mind that somewhere out there, there is another painting with that title too. I should keep better records.

What's In a Name or My Best Title Ever

111cm x 79cm - Acrylic on Canvas

My parents were very supportive about my decision to be an artist but my father often complained about the titles I give my paintings. “Too prosaic!” he would say. He once suggested that, had I painted it, I would have titled Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' - 'Seafront VII'. He had a point but I deliberately choose bland titles because I don't want to influence the viewer's reaction to the work. For example I rarely specify the geographical location and I resist emotionally charged words or descriptions. I prefer titles that are lists of some of the objects depicted in the painting or an unemotional description of an activity in the picture. Of course this in itself influences the viewer but a part of me hopes that the viewer will be so unimpressed by the title that they will forget it or pay it no heed while they look at the painting. If I was really confident I would just number the paintings. In fact the first big oil painting I did at art school is called 'One' which is coincidentally my second favourite title. However this is the outright winner even Dad approved of it. It is my best title ever – I called it 'Painting'.

Some More Oars

Seafront II - 7" x 12" - Acrylic on Paper

Here are the same oars as those in the previous painting. Everything else is different, even the type of chair, only the oars remain the same. There is a link here to the later Degas paintings of dancers. I always liked his use of space. I wanted to construct a couple of paintings where the design was more important than the subject. I don't think these are those but Degas is in there somewhere.

Oars

Seafront I - 7" x 12" - Acrylic on Paper

I had just bought a pair of oars for our boat. It's an inflatable, old and patched, designed as a tender but we use it with an electric outboard to explore the local rivers and canal. The oars are for when the battery runs out. I liked them so much that I decided to paint them and this is the first of two paintings in which they are included.

I Left My Hat In . . .

White Hats on the Sea Front - 16" x 12" - Acrylic on Canvas

 

I was taking photos on the seafront, not for this painting but as general source material for future paintings, when a friend sneaked up behind me and tipped the hat off my head. It was a lightweight, cotton cap which floated down onto the beach. A little later I climbed down to the sand to get it but, by the time I got there, it was gone. It was a cheap hat, it wasn't even very nice but it was useful and I missed it. I put it in this painting and here it will always be, on the beach. But the painting isn't really about my hat . . . or any hats for that matter.

Orange Anorak

Orange Anorak - 20" x 14" - Oil on Linen

I've just finished this painting.

Rats!

'Military Canal' and 'Snow III' - watercolour

These two paintings are showing as part of this year's Rye Art Trail or 'RAT' as it's more popularly known. The picturesque, ancient town of Rye in East Sussex hosts the 40th anniversary of its art festival from August 26 to September 25 2011. A regular feature of the festival is an art trail that takes the visitor to 37 windows (shops and private houses) each of which is showing works of art by one (or more) of 40 artists from the area. It's well worth a visit and most of the paintings are available for sale. Free map and details from Martello Bookshop in the High Street, Rye, East Sussex.