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Summer 2026

The Name Game

The surprisingly powerful art of naming your art

Stop Treating Your Art Titles Like Afterthoughts

A great title is the front door. It tells people where to enter, what to feel, and why this thing matters.

Because the title is often the first moment of connection. Before color, before texture, before story. And a strong one doesn’t just label the work, it pulls people closer.

The difference is simple:
Boring titles disappear.
Good ones make people stop.

. 

I’m ready to retire “Untitled” and save 50%!

Do any of these statements sound familiar?

You make beautiful work, but people can’t remember it later.

Selling your work makes you feel slimy.

You secretly hope the art will "speak for itself," but so far it has mostly been making polite eye contact and waiting for an introduction.

Naming Art Before You Make It Will Change Everything

This is more than a sales tool, it's a creative system for artists who want their work to feel more intentional, memorable, and sellable without becoming the kind of person who says "personal brand" unironically.

You’ll learn how to use titles to:

  1. Make stronger work
  2. Build better collections
  3. Tell better stories
  4. Sell more naturally
  5. Stop treating the title like the paperwork that comes after the magic

"What's in it for me?"

You’ll learn how to turn titles into a tool that makes your art more memorable, meaningful, and easier to connect with (and sell), plus four simple exercises to generate better names fast.

 

A Mini Course In
Four Snack-Sized Lessons

JUNE 5 | INTRO

Stepping over gold to pick up gravel 

A title is not decoration. It’s part of the art.

The title is not the bow. It’s not the receipt. It’s not the sad little parsley next to the steak. A title changes how people experience the piece. Same painting, different title, completely different emotional weather. In this intriductary session we'll cover three key takeaways; 

1. Buyers need a doorway in.
Most people are not walking around with an MFA and a tiny black turtleneck in their purse. They want to enjoy art. They just don’t always know where to start. A good title says, “Come on in. Shoes off or on, we’re casual.”

2. Interesting names create instant feeling and credibility.
A title like Pink Floral #3 says, “I was made in a conference room.”

A title like A Quiet Argument Between Petals says, “This is about something larger than color or subject matter and the artist is intentionally guiding you through it, even if you don’t have the story."

That is the difference.

3. Naming before painting gives you direction.
This is where it gets spicy. Name the work first. Yes, before the paint. Before the drama. Before you stand six feet away squinting. The title becomes the destination. Now your compass is calibrated and you’re not wandering around the canvas hoping inspiration will arrive with snacks.They’re wondering. 

FRI | JUNE 12 | EXERCISE 1

The Walkabout

Join me for an artist date to an unremarkable, entirely necessary place in the everyday world where we will quietly and almost mischievously harvest language from our surroundings and turn it into something unexpectedly elegant.

We’ll collect stray words like shells in a pocket and assemble them into three-word stories built around a single shared theme. Nothing precious, nothing forced, just the kind of noticing that makes the ordinary start to shimmer.

The aim is to understand why certain word combinations feel alive, why they hum, why they linger, why they suddenly feel like they’ve always belonged together. From there, we’ll refine and distill them into titles that don’t just describe the work but expand it, titles that spark imagination in the maker and quiet confidence in the viewer who thinks, yes, I understand this world and I want to step inside it. 

FRI | JUNE 19 | EXERCISE 2

Fun With Theme Songs

In our second exercise, we’re borrowing a little glamour from the songwriters—the ones who somehow manage to bottle heartbreak, joy, and bad decisions into three-minute miracles. We are letting them lead us straight into a set of art titles with a little more mood, a little more mischief, and a very clear sense of soundtrack.

Because just as a great song can pull you up by the collar or send you drifting into memory you didn’t ask for, visual art does the very same thing—only quieter, and often in better lighting. And when you let lyrics do a bit of the heavy lifting, what emerges is a collection of titles that feel less like labels and more like scenes, whispers, and half-remembered melodies you can’t quite get out of your head.

FRI | JUNE 26 | EXERCISE 3

Community Chest

Working as an artist can be a solitary pursuit, the kind that stretches long and quiet and occasionally a bit too self-contained. But the moment you begin to invite others into the process through something as deceptively simple as a title, everything shifts.

With this exercise, you are no longer making work in a vacuum. You are building a small, attentive audience from the very beginning. You are asking for language, for perspective, for a kind of creative participation that makes people feel not only included, but genuinely invested. And that investment matters. It lingers.

The key is specificity. You are not throwing open the studio doors and hoping for inspiration to blow in. You are offering a thoughtful prompt, a contained invitation, a way for people to contribute that feels easy, flattering, and meaningful. When done well, it allows buyers and viewers to feel like they are part of the work before it ever hangs on a wall.

This exchange becomes something quieter and more interesting than marketing. It becomes a shared language. A small, almost sacred collaboration between maker and audience, where a title is no longer an afterthought but a signal flare. A direction. Sometimes even the kick-in-the-rump your work has been waiting for.

Can I watch these all in one sitting?

Yes—after June 26 you can absolutely watch them all in one go. But I’m spacing them out on purpose so you don’t just consume them… you actually have time to absorb them, play with them, and use them.

 

SUMMER 2026 ONLY
A Facebook Community

A sandbox to share your results with other like-minded artists

As soon as you enroll, you’ll receive access to a private Facebook community where the real conversation continues. The sessions will live on the website, but I’ll be checking in regularly inside the group to answer questions, offer feedback, and share ideas and prompts as you go.

What happens in this work tends to be surprisingly rich. The exercises open up unexpected, often fascinating results, and you may find yourself just as interested in seeing what others are discovering as you are in your own process.

This is a special course launch offering, and the group will remain open and active through August 31, 2026. Get in before it closes!

What if I don't have a Facebook account?
No worries, all videos are on my private website. The Facebook group is an optional (and temporary) bonus. 

Is this mini-course right for me?

This workshop is for people who:

  •  Make work they care about deeply, but name it like they were rushing to meet a filing deadline.
  •  Are curious how language can quietly shift meaning, story, and even perceived value.
  •  Want collectors and viewers to remember their work, not just glance at it and move on.
  •  Enjoy creative play, word association, and surprising connections between ordinary language and art.
  •  Are ready to treat naming as part of the art-making process, not an afterthought between framing and snacks.

This workshop is not for people who:

  •  Are deeply committed to the philosophy of “Untitled #27 and proud of it.”
  •  Believe titles should be purely functional, like labeling a box in a storage unit.
  •  Want rigid formulas, rules, or a single “correct” way to name every piece forever.
  •  Are allergic to play, word experiments, or slightly unexpected creative prompts.
  •  Prefer their art to remain completely unframed by narrative, meaning, or interpretation.
  •  Think naming is unrelated to viewer experience or how people connect with their work.
  •  Are here strictly for technical instruction and would like emotions and language to stay in their lane.

There are a lots of different kinds of art and lots of ways to sell it. This mini-course is not for everyone. But if the details above sound right for you...let's go!

Sign Up Now and Save 50%

Frequently Asked Questions

My Story

I’m Amanda:

Painter, maker, teacher—hi, it’s me. My origin story involves finger painting in a bathtub with leftover chocolate pudding, and frankly I’ve been chasing that vibe ever since. When I paint, my cells do a little jazz square. This is the thing I’m meant to do. It’s my gift, my livelihood, and my privilege—and yes, I fully intend to share it with as many people as possible. (This means you. Put on an apron.) I believe people live better lives in the presence of original art, and I consider it my sacred duty to keep the supply chain flowing. After years of selling and teaching, I can confirm: people who make art regularly are always the happiest in the room. Bonus round: turning that practice into a business? Chef’s kiss. I’m thrilled you’re here—let’s make something gorgeous and a little unhinged.