Signaturizing

Signaturizing: it's a new term. I just invented it. Its when you sign a piece of artwork. It is not as easy as it looks due to the texture of the paint, the canvas itself and the way a paint brush works. Oil paint is a little gloppy (a technical term) so it needs to be thinned enough to flow off a brush without being drippy (another technical term). The brush needs to be able to hold the paint and let it flow off. I'm thinking that a particular type of medium and combination of oils, varnishes, thinners and whatnot may make the job a lot easier. If you were a calligrapher you would just use ink, which is opaque and it flows into swirls and twirls making a beautiful graphic. Oil paint, when thinned that much just drips and is not opaque. Hence, my "expressive" but not so fluid use of plain block letters rather than Copperplate Deluxe.

If I am having a lot of trouble it is very tempting to just use my initials. There are many artists who did this, such as Toulouse Lautrec or Albrecht Durer. I don't think I'm quite in that class and as a marketing ploy this only works if you are AT&T or the POTUS and everyone already knows who you are. This is not the case with most artists so having your full last name clearly included is necessary so they can say, “Oh, another brilliant Haskell watercolor. How nice.” Otherwise they will be scratching their heads saying, “VAHS? Who is this German savant?”

Then there are the decisions surrounding where to locate the signature. Lower left or lower right is the norm, but sometimes it is a little too distracting, depending on the characteristics and level of detail of that corner. I like it to be visible and legible, but not shouting at you. You want your audience to focus on the art itself, not your John Hancock. With drawings and watercolors it is fun to let it crawl up a tree trunk or frond of grass like an caterpillar looking for a fresh green leaf. I like that idea for something that is viewed up close, but for something that may be viewed from distance, you want your clientele to know, right off the bat, who painted it and be obsessed with the idea that they have to have it on the walls of their humble abode and then buy, buy, buy.