Naming My Dutch Pour Painting By Samantha Dexheimer

Introduction:

As an artist, every beautiful painting that you create deserves to have a beautiful name…or does it?

In today’s episode, Samantha Dexheimer explains why she initially named her recent Dutch Pour painting “Period Rush”, how she renamed it, and a few takeaways that you can start applying today.

If you have ever created a breathtaking piece of art and then struggled to come up with an “appropriate” name then this show is for you.

This episode is sponsored by Acrylicpouring.com – the leading fluid arts website which provides fluid artists around the world the inspiration and tips they need.

If you are new to fluid arts and want to get started now then go to https://acrylicpouring.com/  to learn the 5 fundamentals of making beautiful acrylic pours for FREE.  Also, join their Facebook community where every day artists just like YOU are sharing their newest creations that just might end up on another one of these episodes.

More about today’s guest:

Previously an Air Force veteran, Sam now lives in the Washington Seattle area where she owns and runs Dexheimer Studios. After entering grad school full time Sam lost what she felt was her artistic voice. After seeing a video of a Dutch Pour online, it sparked her passion again. Now she focuses on not only turning her own hobby into a business, but also helping other struggling artists with their own journeys through free online guides.

Click here for a step by step of how I created this Dutch Pour painting

What does your studio space look like now?

My studio space is setup in the great room downstairs. Our old dining room table is now my table and I have this entire space to create beautiful art plus I am now able to record my creation process. I use a drop cloth, a rug underneath the table, and I ordered some plastic table protectors from Amazon because the trash bags and the drop cloths were ripping so easily. I primarily use the rug underneath to catch any drips that go past the table.

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What made you initially name this piece “Period Rush?”

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Soon after I finished creating this piece, I struggled to think of a name and after asking my husband for his opinion he quickly came up with the name “Period Rush.” I found this to be extremely funny and I knew it would make me remember it but I was unsure if I should send it out to the public with that name. He gets so excited to help me name my paintings but since this one was a bit controversial I ended up posting in the group asking if that name was a little bit too edgy or controversial to send to a bizarre and whether people had other names that they might name it other than that.

What did you rename it?

After receiving more than 800 comments and nearly 1,000 reactions from the group with a mix of feedback and suggested names, I renamed it “Spanish Dancer.” This name was one of the first recommendations I received from that post and I felt this new name was perfect because of its twofold meaning: A sea slug and an actual Spanish dancer with a colorful dress. 

Click here to get an idea of what this sea slug looks like if you’re not familiar

What were some of your takeaways from all this feedback?

The first lesson I learned was that audience is key:

Quite a few people brought up the fact that the name Period Rush could work with certain audiences. I agree with that and it’s definitely something to keep in mind for the future. Since this piece was going into a public arts and crafts fair, I decided not to go with Period Rush because it could put off a lot of buyers. However, if it was going to a more edgy art show or something along the lines of feminism for example, I probably would have stuck with the Period Rush because it would have been an empowering statement to some people.

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The second lesson I learned is that you don’t have to name your pieces.

Initially my mindset was “Every artist names their paintings,” and “All famous museums have names for their pieces and for most people this is how they identify each one.” Then I noticed quite a few people comment something along the lines of “I don’t understand why people have to name their paintings.” This eventually led me to ask myself “Why do I need to name my paintings?” and I soon realized that NOT naming your painting is and letting the customer do it is a viable option.

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How do you advertise a painting without a name?

I’ve recently started using software online to stage the pictures so that pictures do more speaking for themselves and people can see it more in an actual home environment without having to get them emotionally invested in the name now they’re more emotionally invested in the painting and how it’s going to look in their home. 

(Tip) Since Etsy does not required that you include the name of your painting in the title, many artists will use highly ranked keywords as their title. For example: An artist listing on Etsy may use “abstract painting,” or “home décor,” or something along those lines as their title. So it’s more about what the actual item is rather than the name itself.

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This post is a fraction of the fluid arts podcast, don’t forget to view it and share it with your artist friends. Also, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to join our Facebook community. Thanks, and see you in the next episode.

See more of Samantha’s art here: 

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