Watercolor Signatures with “Confidence”

Hello everyone thanks for joining me.

            Today we will talk about the importance of signatures in watercolor art.

To get started, we must prepare our minds for learning something new. To do that, we must forget what we have heard - forget what our friends have told us, and to remember that the simple fact toward achieving success in watercolor painting, is through its “simplicity.’’ No other medium can boast such a claim. 

What your Signature looks like really does matter

            A signature is a symbol that represents a person's name, their existence, their legacy. That symbol represents the distinct identification of you, your individuality, and of your self-awareness. No other symbol can represent your existing on this planet as much as your signature can. A signature carved into a rock out in the middle of a desert shows the world that you, the individual, had existed, placed hands on that rock at some time in history, and it gives meaning to our existence in this world. The same thing can be said about scribing your individual symbol to your artwork. It tells the world that you existed, that you placed hands upon it, that you created it, and that you left your legacy, your emotions, your unique individualism within it. 

It says that I was there

            Why do some artists then never fulfill their artwork with their individual symbols? Whether finished or not, we must show the world who placed mind and soul to brush and pigment and left behind that work. This act not only helps to identify who the creator was, but it also supports culturalism as a progressive existence. Collective cultural patterns of emotional significance can be explored through artwork created centuries ago. Through one single painting, a cultural atmosphere can be speculated and written into history books. This presents a further understanding of the ages, how people lived, what the emotional atmospheres were, and it is finalized by the symbol of those who recorded it. We as artists have an obligation to the cultures of today and of tomorrow, to record the emotional atmospheres as we recognize them. This, along with our signature, our individuality, our being, can be analyzed centuries from now and provide historians with realistic emotional atmosphere and cultural perspectives of our times.

            The importance of our signature upon our artworks must be realized. But, how should we be scribing our symbols for more accurate assessment, identification and legacy purposes? Mere initials of our being just won’t do. There are far too many people on this planet with the same initials. No, we must provide as much information about ourselves and our being, along with our recording of realistic and accurate cultural interpretations we see today.

Master Watercolor Artist Jim McNeil Existed. Gone, but not forgotten.

            Signing your name legibly and for all to identify for centuries to come makes more sense than a mere scribble of unrecognizable letters. Will you proclaim that that artwork is yours, and of you, by you, and for all to remember, with confidence? Or will you scribble unrecognizable letters to your work and claim no distinct responsibility of it? As you have learned, it is more beneficial to create a readable symbol of you. Didn’t you have the confidence during your creation of the artwork? Then, show that by providing your full and distinct individuality in the way of a confidently and legible signature applied to your work. 

Respect your Signature, Apply with Confidence.

            Whether you choose to brush-in your signature, scratch in your name or use a calligraphy pen to adorn your symbol to your work, do so with pride, and do it with legible confidence. Providing your full first name with the last name, or signing your first name with your middle name and your last name, will provide for better clarity than the lazy scribble or indecipherable initials. Also, creating an image symbol, of say an owl, to represent your name instead of your name is just silly. Be responsible for what you create for centuries to come. Know that your symbol, your being, your legacy will be understood as it should be. Imagine that what you say today, will provide interpretation, speculation and imagination three-hundred years from now. Now if that isn’t legacy, I don’t know what is. People will read your name, and they will attempt to understand you as you are today. 

Make it clear, make it confident, and make it last.