If you’ve painted a woman in the sun…
Don't name it “Woman in the Sun,” even though that's what you painted.
We see it. A woman. The sun. Got it.
You don’t need to spell it out like the label of a cereal box.
And don’t push the mythology just to sound clever.
“Illuminated Artemis”? Come on. That’s not deep.
That’s Google and desperation in a trench coat.
You're not fooling anyone. No one’s impressed. Least of all the painting.
Truth is, no one cares what you read on Wikipedia before you pick up a brush.
So here’s something REAL.
You’ve got two shots at naming a piece:
- Before you paint—let the title spark the fire.
- Once it’s done—let it be the match that lights up the viewer’s mind.
Today option 2 is on my mind.
A title isn’t a description!!!
It’s a knife. It cuts, it lingers.
It doesn’t say “this is what it is.” It says, “this is what it does.”
Calling a painting “Woman in Armour” because there’s a woman in armour is like calling wine “Fermented Grapes in a Glass Bottle.”
Technically true.
Emotionally dead.
Art doesn’t explain. It haunts.
The title should too.
If the painting is the shot, the title is the finger on the trigger.
So don’t call it “Woman in Armour.”
Don’t name what’s clearly visible.
Name what’s hidden.
…Not the armour. The fear within it!
…Not the face. The feeling behind it!
A title isn’t a caption. It’s a spell.
It doesn't point at a thing. It echoes the silence it leaves behind.
Remember this every time you name something:
DON’T NAME THE OBJECT. INVOKE THE EFFECT.
Got it?
Good!
So yeah. All of this just to admit: Every time I name a new Quarantine edition, I sweat bullets.
First: Muse Hacking.
Second: Fire Walk With Me.
Third: Interzone.
Fourth: The Art Spirit.
Fifth: Strange Heaven.
If you’ve been to the first three, you know why they’re called that.
If you’re coming next week to the fourth, you’ll find out.
And if you show up in October for the fifth, it’ll click then too.
P.S. — What does that name do to you? Sweet but slanted, right? Like joy with a long shadow. Something holy that hums just a bit too low. That’s what a title’s for. Not to describe. Sign up and feel it for yourself. Only then you’ll see that titles aren’t about hot-dogging. They’re about emotional precision. 👆
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