Paintings and their Names

Look at everything as though you are seeing it for the first time, with eyes of a child, fresh with wonder.

~ Joseph Cornell

Ah, if only it were so easy. Our eyes are clouded with life experiences and knowledge we don’t want to let go of.

On that note, I want to add an addendum to the painting that is now with the Paint America Top 100 show. I always thought “High, Wide and Lonesome” was the epitome of the perfect title for a painting depicting Colorado. The painting had that title from its inception, which is rare for me. Titles of Paintings are the bane of my existence. NOT creative in that department at all. “High, Wide and Lonesome” is the title of a book I read back in my youth about growing up as a homesteader on the plains of Colorado. I read this book way before I ever thought I would be living in Colorado.

But a friend of mine has renamed this painting: “There is a reason the rearview mirror is smaller than the windshield.” (Dear friend of mine, please correct me if I haven't got it quite right) I can’t decide if I like if for this painting, as it certainly fits, or if it is the seed for another painting. Are my ego and my desperate wish to have finally picked a great name for one of my paintings getting in my way?