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Marjorie Firth

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Some might wonder -“ what is she going on about?” ( my comment on Alan’s latest sketch). I happen to think that where you place any shape in a painting or a sketch is one of the most important things - even down to your signature! To me everything has to be” balanced”. Still Life is a case in point - the objects can be well painted but if the composition doesn’t balance it’s either glaringly obvious or there’s the strange feeling that something’s “off”. The same applies to portraits, landscapes etc - the space around the former is crucial. Of course there are “ rules”, the rule of thirds, the golden spot etc, the pathways ….if you ignore them you end up with something unsatisfactory.  And on to the title and the signature. How many times is work spoiled by a big clumsy signature which competes with the work. I’ve groaned at a few. What do other people think?

Alan Bickley

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Balance is everything… and signatures and other information should be given careful consideration… they’re all part of the process. On this issue, I appreciate your comment on this morning’s post Marjorie. A singular signature on a painting leaves you with two options - bottom left or right. Get this simple thing wrong, and it can throw the composition off balance.  My god, he’s nitpicking, I hear you say… but detail matters! Signatures should be kept reasonably horizontal to the edge of the work, definitely not on the ‘skew’ at an upward angle, and not ridiculously large - everything in proportion is the name of the game!
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Paul (Dixie) Dean

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Having read through your I’ve come to see what you are getting at and do agree with what you are say .  Portraits are something I avoid as in hopeless at then and agree that the space around is important, hate the ones that look like it’s squeezed into the frame , bit like wearing tight clothes, oo just got into it then.  Landscape to a degree, if you want total accuracy then sometimes yiu have to incorporate something that might not work to well . I know we can use so call artist license but only to a point , I will say that the landscape might be appealing because something is out of place or stands out like a sore thumb . I do as said agree with what you are saying , and particularly when it comes to signatures I have a tendency to put it in the right hand corner whist making it clear I try to fit it in the scene if possible. I have sometimes put it in  quickly and afterwards though it’s to obvious or on the wrong place, I hate seeing paintings with large signatures in bright colours, or initials in bold capital letters . 

Alan Bickley

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Rowland Hilder, on many of his illustrations in particular, added his signature at the top of his work, but I’ve never seen it done on his paintings… Often, I suspect, because there wasn’t enough available space at the bottom. How obvious is that! Of course that was the reason… But he was a genius in everything he did, so it is acceptable in my book! I’m not overly fond of just adding initials, but many artists do, including Hockney (although he generally doesn’t add anything), and the late Bernard Dunstan RA, who only ever added BD as his signature.

Edited
by Alan Bickley

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Russell Edwards

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Regarding signatures, certain names are just nicer to write. 'Russell' with the double 's' and 'l' for example is a horrible name to write particularly with a paint brush. 'Edwards' doesn't flow either!
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Tanja Gerster

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A wonderful topic, thank you. I put effort into my signature, even if it's usually just my initials plus the year. Perhaps it's due to my previous job that I like to see a full signature on forms and documents, but not on such small, delicate watercolor paintings. It always depends on the type of image itself. The same pen doesn't always work. But what I find just as bad is when the signature is so small and puny that it wants to "hide" in the very bottom corner of the paper, I'd rather have a confident, large, sweeping signature... I don't find it easy to always conjure up the perfect signature.

Jenny Harris

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I’m probably in the minority here, but I hate to see a signature on any painting, even one discreetly placed.  My own work is quite small and a signature can look really distracting no matter how neatly done - I always sign my framed paintings on the back, and my linocut prints have the edition number and signature on the back.  Totally agree, though, about balance being everything, although I never think about the rules of one thirds etc., I just go with what looks right.

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by Jenny Harris

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Marjorie Firth

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Most people seem to like a signature I find. I’ve had them brought back to me to add one. I like to see one too, even if on the back. Russell, how do you sign your work then?

Denise Cat

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I agree balance is important. I believe you gain a better understanding of it the more experience you gain. I certainly look more carefully now to look at the flow and balance of what I'm doing. 

Diana Boanas Swa ASGFA

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Some might wonder -“ what is she going on about?” ( my comment on Alan’s latest sketch). I happen to think that where you place any shape in a painting or a sketch is one of the most important things - even down to your signature! To me everything has to be” balanced”. Still Life is a case in point - the objects can be well painted but if the composition doesn’t balance it’s either glaringly obvious or there’s the strange feeling that something’s “off”. The same applies to portraits, landscapes etc - the space around the former is crucial. Of course there are “ rules”, the rule of thirds, the golden spot etc, the pathways ….if you ignore them you end up with something unsatisfactory.  And on to the title and the signature. How many times is work spoiled by a big clumsy signature which competes with the work. I’ve groaned at a few. What do other people think?
Marjorie Firth on 26/03/2025 09:01:14
I put my signature on the back of a lot of my work but like it to be subtle if on the front. Some famous artists signatures are enormous and often more powerful than the actual painting 

Denise Cat

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That did make me chuckle Diana and you are so right. I'm not a very neat writer so my signature always looks a mess.
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Russell Edwards

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Marjorie I sign my work, when I remember to that is, with my moniker 'Russell.'
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