M ention two painters – Thomas Kinkade and James Gurney – to an artist and a layperson. The artist will more than likely respond with contempt to Kinkade and with enthusiasm to Gurney. The layperson will probably respond with adulation to Kinkade and say “Who?” in response to Gurney. The two coauthored a book on sketching back in the eighties before their careers went in two very different directions.
James Gurney authors a fascinating blog on art – techniques of painting, observations, sketches, and paintings.
Most recently, he posted a series on titling paintings. That’s when I realized that I rarely title my photos and decided to include that as one of the minor changes I’ll be making to this blog. Post headings will now be the title of the photograph (or one of the photographs) in the post.
Well-written, inspiring blogs are part of the creative fuel that I rely on in these grey, winter months. I’m always looking for a photo, especially a photo that captures that Southern essence that I try to distill in this blog.
The cold and the dampness and the wind do their best to discourage exploration and photo seeking. December through February seem to be three of the most difficult months to stay motivated to shoot. Yet, titling my photographs have become a useful exercise in overcoming creative block.
Gurney includes a quote by Rene Magritte:
“The titles are chosen in such a way as to prevent my pictures from being situated in the reassuring region to which people’s minds would automatically assign them in order to underestimate their significance.”
Question: Did this photo’s title push the image out of a reassuring region for you? Where did it take you? You can leave a comment below.
