Friday, November 21, 2014

Secret ArtWork #7 from 2009 -- Give it a Title!


One of the many things I learned as a result of participating in Secret ArtWorks is the importance of a painting's Title. For example, this year (2014) I wouldn't have liked the following pieces nearly as much were it not for their titles:

V0675 The Pants: not only is this a fabulous portrait of the woman, I assumed the title meant she "wore the pants in the family" as its matriarch. So much better a title than her name, or "Portrait of a Woman" or even of a mother.

V0759 City Rat: I wouldn't have looked at this portrait of a pigeon the same way without its great title, which made me think about pigeons and how apt a description this is. Poetry engages our minds this way, I think. A very "poetic" title was this.

So, I'm asking you what I should have titled this Secret Artwork from 2009. I can't remember what title I gave it, but I'm sure it wasn't as good as it could, and should, have been. If you own it, remind us what I titled it, please.

Does it help to know this is of Eden Plantation on the Gulf Coast near Fort Walton Beach Florida (between Destin and Seaside)? My parents wintered in Destin for many years and when I went there, I used to love to visit this historic home and estate, one of the last remnants of old Florida. It used to be a lumber plantation and the azalea gardens were still beautiful, as were the live oaks. The house was used in the feature film "Frogs" and the last time I was there it was the site of a weekend Civil War encampment.

Here are some titles I can think of today...

"A tree older than me"
"Where are all the frogs?"
"If Scarlett had lived in Florida"

How about you?