It’s time for the annual (yes, I’m calling it an annual event) Name That Painting Contest!
The rules are simple. Take a gander at the painting shown here, come up with a title that you feel fits it, and either submit your title through the comment section or e-mail it to info@gcmyers.com no later than Midnight EST on Sunday, May 16, 2010. Feel free to enter as many titles as you wish.
The prize for submitting the winning title is…
A set of 2 extremely limited edition prints. These are very high quality giclee artist proofs from a project that I tentatively started a few years back. Very eye-catching, they are signed and numbered. Plus, I will be including a signed copy of my book, In Quiet Places.
The painting is a fairly large 30″ by 40″ canvas and is a central piece for my upcoming solo show at the Principle Gallery in June. I’m going to let the viewers choose their title without any prompting from me so I’ll leave it at that.
So break out your thinking beanies and give it a shot. What do you have to lose?
Redtree Times 
How about:
Chairway to Daybreak
Daybreak’s Repose
Dawn’s Departure
or maybe Restful Road
I’ll try to clear some wallspace.
bh
Wow! Quality, quantity and quickness!
Impressive. You Red-Bulling it this morning?
I can’t believe Chairway to Heaven wasn’t among the bh suggestions!
Are you claiming Chairway to Heaven as yours, then?
Absolutely
“Sitting Shiva”
Thanks, Al. “Sitting Shiva” is on the list.
How about…
‘Like a chair left behind in a strange world’
I’ll try to think of more!
Thank you, Mark. Your title is duly noted and I look forward to hearing more…
Here are my entries:
The Fall of Alexander the Great
The Table
The End of the Chair Affair
Did You Know My Father?
A Chair’s Last Repose
Wondering: Are you going to have people vote on their favorite title or are you simply going to pick what title best suits the work?
Can’t wait to see what title wins! This is a great idea!
-DHS
Thanks for the titles, Dave. Also, good question about how the winning title is chose. I will make the final call on the winner. I choose from among the entries for the one that best fits, in my mind. The entries not picked are listed on the back of the painting so they are there to be seen for so long as the painting hangs around.
Two Wooden Chairs Divergent on a Yellow Road
Whose chairs these are I think I know.
I bought them at IKEA. Though
They looked the same
It’s clear to see that one is lame.
I don’t know if that qualifies as a title but kudos for creativity, Al. That’s great!
Thanks, Gary. Your title is noted.
‘We Were on Our Way’
Thanks, Clint. A lot to think about in your title…
[…] For the rest of the details, check out yesterday’s post. […]
‘autumn has fallen on my summer chair’
still thinking. I probably should be working though!!
Very poetic. Thanks again, Mark.
“And We All Fall Down”
or by Kathy’s better half, Joe,
“We All Stumble on the Road of Life”
Thanks Gary,
Kada.
Ps.
We have to call you about a piece for a customer.
Thanks, Kathy and Joe. I like them both. And, yes, we all do stumble on that road…
When All is Said and Done
from a great Warren Zevon song – Keep Me in Your Heart
Really, good, Noelle. Love the Zevon reference. as well. Thanks!
Hello,
I fell some sadness in that painting and propose the title:
Broken Bonds
Alicja
I prefer to think of it as not sadness but as wistful remembrance. Thanks, Alicja.
Hope all is well with you.
‘many a winding path’
‘take us to your leader’
tried and I think failed to use the mobile site so re-post my latest efforts!
‘many a winding path’
‘take us to your leader’
Gary – Good morning! My entry for now would be “Soldier On” – It’s 12:53 a.m. and I am sitting next to the Kate and Emily – They are doing great. Loved “Strange Affair” too.
Thanks, Scott. Glad to hear that the girls are doing well. All my best to Jess and you…
Hi Gary! Thought I’d toss a few out there:
“Together We’ve Come”
“Memories Together”
“And We Remember Our Path”
Thanks, Carol. I particularly like the third one…
Hope all is going well for you!
I would suggest …
“From Chair to Eternity”
Kitschy and interpretative. I like it. That goes alongside “Chairway to Heaven’ on the list.
Gary – Good evening! I love this exercise and thank you for the opportunity. I reflected on your work during my run today and here are a couple other thoughts…
Rather than “soldier on,” my mind goes to “carry on” as well. In the past, you have blogged about some of the interesting characters in your life who may or may not have been on the correct path. Or at least on a path that would get them to their potential. Likewise, you have written about your own adventures in seeking purpose. For me, the red tree symbolizes that destination. I cannot name it, but it is there – it is in me. I suppose for each person it is a different destination – yet for so many around us, they do not make it or they stumble along the way (people very close to me represent the fallen chair, yet I “carry on”).
There is a quote from one of my favorite films, Shawshank Redemption where Andy Du Fresne suggests to Red, “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” For some, the fallen chair is a barrier and for others it is an opportunity to learn, grow and carry on toward the sometimes elusive purpose within each one of us. Psychologists call this “self actualization”
Which brings me back to “soldier on” – which according to Random House means – “to persist steadfastly in one’s work; persevere: to soldier on until the work is done.”
Again, thank you. And thanks to others who have posted as well. I love this exercise. It helps me better understand how your work speaks to me and others…
Sincerely, SJA
Scott– Thanks for the great interpretation of the tree and chair. Like you, having this contest helps me better understand how others see and react to the work. Your explanation really makes “Soldier On” come clear.
Thanks, again…
A couple more:
“Dusk Reminiscence”
“Forget-Me-Nots”
“If I remember…”
As in all things these days, we find ourselves slipping in at the last possible moment!
My brother Evan offers: “Lonely Perch” and “A Path to Nowhere”
Erin submits: “Restless Road”
I am torn: my first impression when you posted this painting was “For Better, For Worse” seeing in it a reflection of the road Erin and I are traveling together.
As I look again in the context of our new role as parents however, I see I theme I cannot seem to summarize in the few words appropriate to suggest as I title. Instead I’ll cheat and offer a haiku for your consideration:
“You have taught me well
But now you must clear the way;
This journey is mine.”
Thank you for the opportunity to share in your work. See you in June at the Principle Gallery!