Take Credit!

The painting is complete and ready for varnish but there is just one more thing to do- sign your name! It took me some time to find some methods that I like for signing my name. Sure, I want it to be noticeable- I am proud of my work; however, I don't want it to overpower anything or change the composition. I want it to sit nicely in the corner, proud, refined, and not too loud. Now, how do we do that?

When I started painting tiny landscapes in acrylic, I fell in love with micron pens. My landscapes are tiny- only 3x4 inches or 4x5 inches, so I found it difficult to sign in paint and keep it legible. Using a 01 or 005 micron pen works beautifully. Just make sure that you wait for it to dry completely before varnishing or it will bleed. Also, if you don't like how your signature works out, try wiping off with water right away. I have been known to spray on glass cleaner in a desperate attempt to fix a dry signature, but I don't dare recommend it.

Signing a really dark painting can be tricky. There are white pens, and you can try those, but I like the Saral Transfer Paper in white. Just lay it down, and sign over it with a pencil or ballpoint pen. Nice!

If the lower right of my painting is light, sometimes I don't want a dark black signature. Pencil is a beautiful, soft grey, but if you are working in acrylic, it can be too slippery. I like to lay down a thin layer of Golden Absorbent Ground. Once it dries, the pencil writes beautifully. I love it.

What do you do? There are so many ways to sign- in wet paint, with paint, hey, I suppose I could collage on my signature. Maybe I'll try that sometime!

One last thing, an artist friend once told me that one should always sign in the lower right corner... I forget her reasoning why. Have you heard this? Do you know the reasoning? Anyway, I do- at least most of the time.

#signature #saraltransferpaper #micronpen #AbsorbentGround