What’s In A Name: How I Title My Art

by Miriam Schulman
how to title | painting titles | http://schulmanart.blogspot.com/2017/05/whats-in-name-how-i-title-my-art.html

When collectors see my work on display, they always comment how my art makes them feel both calm and happy at the same time. The beauty of this reaction is that it happens to be how I want my art to make people feel.

It has taken years to hone the skills to create this feeling through the use of colors, subject matter, and texture,

My art practice has developed as a personal means of processing and transforming life. I am always striving for optimism and positivity, and use my work in combination with my journaling practice to build a collection of thoughts and imagery that heals me.

My childhood was full of heartache, and I found art making to be the best way for me to connect with the qualities in life I wanted to create for myself, those of joy, harmony and self-love.

Though I am always finding and responding to new influences, the WAY I approach subjects is how I personally benefit from my own work, and this process, in turn, allows me to share that feeling with others.


For this art, I combined the sweetness of the cow with a rose garden.
→Click here to learn more about Rosie the cow

Never underestimate the importance of HOW


In terms of my subject matter, I create a lot of art with animals that I call "animal spirits" and I love to research and discover ancient feng shui properties to find relationships between the magic of the animal spirits with the universal power they have to bring life into a collector’s home.

I also paint flowers, figures and landscapes and infuse them with music and positive vibrations, rhythmic patterns, and colors that invoke the imagination.

So we understand the how, but how do you put words to feeling. In my case, I was asked how I title my paintings, and so I wanted to share my personal approach.


crocus painting | floral art | flower painting | purple flowers | https://www.schulmanart.com/collections/spring-collection/products/crocus-original-mixed-media-art
I took the title "Spikes of Crocus" from a line 
of poetry by Edna St Vincent Millet called "Spring"

The Final Conversation


When I title my paintings, I consider the title “the final conversation” before I release the painting into the world. To title my art, I often use peruse poetry to find bits and pieces of poems that carry a similar feeling or thought in the written word that best describe my intention. 


Title Parties


To free up the process and make it more collaborative, at times I have turned to social media to ask my followers how they might title my art. This is what I call a "Title Party", where I challenge my followers to title the painting and then I choose from their responses. I love having this conversation with my audience as the reaction in them completes the painting and makes my art a more interactive process. It also gives me an indication of how the art makes the viewer feel without the assistance of a title that lends a preconceived idea.

I liked "Moonlit Solace" and "Gathering Moon Flowers," but I ultimately went with "Moon Child" suggested by one of my followers on facebook.
→Click here to learn more about Moon Child 


New Free Art Brochure

free miriam schulman art catalog http://tinyurl.com/schulmanart-brochure
→ click here to get your free art catalog! (pay postage only)

In case we haven't met yet...


About Me (Miriam Schulman)
Miriam Schulman, founder of The Inspiration Place
In case we haven’t met yet, I’m a watercolor and mixed media artist. My art has been featured in numerous publications such as Somerset Studio, and I’m the founder of The Inspiration Place  where I give my students stepping stones to create beautiful art as well as the emotional support they need to stay inspired. See the art I create at schulmanArt.com or learn how to paint with me at TheInspirationPlace.net
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