About signatures: With each painting I include the year along with my initials PLH, which is a great way of keeping track of work. I have such fun making this tiny little composition/insignia upon my paintings. I look forward to the painting's completion so that I can finally make my signature upon the painting. With each insignia I include the pallete colors of the actual painting, and each marking is slightly different than the next one; I hope to complement the mood of the painting with my "signature" which is a very significant and important finishing touch of the painting.

Most Iconographers sign their name close to the edge of the Icon in miniature letters that are not visible unless looking from a few inches distance. If I am worried that the signature will affect a particular painting, I may sign it in a color that is analogous with the background and the same value - so again the signature is not very prominent looking from distance. I was advised that collectors like to know that the painting is signed on the front, so that's what I do. It's not for my own sake since all the details, including the date are already noted on the back. Perhaps we should ask our collectors what they like, the signatures are for them.

Once I found a painting in a salvage warehouse here in the city. I liked the work and was going to hang it in my personal collection. The painting was signed "Jane Peterson". Thank the muse for that. I sold the work for some good money. I am glad the signature was readable in bold letters. I sign all of my work on the front and on the back also. I sometimes tell a little story about the art work on the reverse. I am thinking of history and the provenance of my work. The antiques roadshow proves that signatures matter.

Your art is you, a reflection of who you are and who you are becoming. It might be a good idea to number each painting, as well as date each painting. Signing your painting is a very important part of that piece of art - it lets us all know in this world who you are... signing front or back or under the varnish is all up to you. It is your Name, or pseudoNAME.

I think I am really "lucky" in that I have a last name that is unusual. As for forging checks with my signature, I doubt it. My signed name is done draftsman style on my paintings and calligraphy that I sign. I do, though, have a hard time signing calligraphy. I would like to get a "chomp" (is that the right term) one of those red stamps the Chinese include in their calligraphy sets that you can carve yourself, and then stamp on, just for calligraphy, as it is less obtrusive. Especially when doing Sume-I. I usually do not sign at all the calligraphy pieces that I do for church, 11 x 14", but when I make them into postcards my name and number is clearly printed on the back. I do have a couple abstracts oil paintings that I did, they were sort of beginnings of paintings, and they are not signed.

I also have a longish name. I chose to use my first 2 initials and last name, discreetly, on larger paintings, using the medium in which I am working, and a fairly distinctive style of printing. For very small images, I use my initials and write my full name on the back. Then, like others, it occured to me that this was a good idea. Now, even when I sign in full on the front, I put my full name on the back of all my paintings, along with my town, the year, and the name of the piece.

I gather from all of this, that signing watercolors with a Sharpie permanent marker is not a good idea. How long did it take for your friend's name to start to disappear? I want to move before this happens to me.

There is nothing worse than finding a nice piece of artwork and there isn't a name or date on it. The first things that I look for. I won't buy a piece of artwork that isn't signed. It is meaningless to me. Own up to your work, be proud, the world will appreciate it. A note on dating your work. As Robert mentioned about how it makes a work look old in a gallery setting, it also is left off because artists want to use older pieces in shows that have limits on when it can be created (wanting only fresh work). I feel that it is saying that you have something to hide. So what if the work hasn't sold the year it was painted in. It could have been in a private collection for years. A lot of collectors appreciate earlier works of an artist. A date is just that, history loves dates.

Zoltan Zabo (spelling?) now unfortunately deceased used to sign his name by using an old ball point pen (no ink) and insizing his name into his watercolor paper and then painting over it, the paint would fall into the creases and voila...a signature.

When I developed the style of my signature back in the early 1990s, it was after I read an article in an art publication that revealed that men's work consistently sold for more than women's work. So, I developed a very "masculine" signature, block letters, no frills.

I signed my work L.Leehane for ever until recently when I decided I wanted my first name on there also. The gallery agreed it would be ok to change ( I was concerned there may be an issue, not really knowing much about galleries and the art world. ) I am happy now to be using my full name. My only annoyance is figuring out what medium to use. My signature is printed and looks like it did when I was in grade 3. Now that I am using oils it is even harder to get it on there neatly. It looks big and chunky. I do use a colour slightly lighter than the background so it isn't too noticeable. I can't even imagine WRITING a signature with a fine brush and oils. Any suggestions?

Does anyone have an idea of how to clean acrylic paint out of brushes in a responsible way? With oils, the pigment settles to the bottom of the thinner jar, and eventually turns to sludge that I can let dry out; with acrylics, they don't seem to settle even after a long time. So eventually, I seem to have no choice but to see all those chemicals (cobalt, cadmium, etc.) go down the drain, or out in the yard, to eventually reach the water table - not good!

I find signing the painting one of the hardest trials. It's always too big, too small, illegible or wrong colour. I have removed and re-signed on a single painting as many as 5 or 6 times!!!

My mother, aged 87 years young, took up painting this year. Aside from providing her with a professional set of watercolors, etc., I have had no input on her art. She paints 'only from life', or what she can see out her window. In good weather, she gets to go to be 'up close' with horses, now her favorite painting subject. About 3 weeks ago, I was updated on her progress. The comment was 'she's signing them now...' Loved it !

Pre the seventh grade I went by Jerry, my first name being Jerald, which I never felt fit. But I got tired of being called Jeraldine by the a**holes I grew up with. So entering junior high I switched to my middle name, Bruce. Bruce proved worse. So I first started signing my work with just my initials, JBW. But I'm a fiber artist, and in fiberland, and with art quilts specifically, most artists are women, and traditional functional quilts were occasionally labeled, but on the back. So now, and for most of my career, I've signed and dated my work in acrylic paint on the bottom right front, using my first/second initials and last name, JB WILCOX, in small block letters to negate the reality of fiber pieces having no signature on the front. Right off, it's gender neutral, which means that until you delve deeper, you don't know for sure who created the work, which can give you a good jolt when you realize you're looking at what may be the only piece in the gallery in a group show made by a man. In other words, I've had to do the same thing many women painters have had to do initially, disguising their gender. I wish it weren't so, but it still is.

I always dread signing my work, especially watercolors. My signature always ends up too sloppy, too bold, or too big with a brush. Lately I've been using a bamboo pen for signatures. It has a nice point that I can sharpen if needed and it feels like a pen.

I sign my work "H.Scott" and no date for all the reasons listed above! Gender neutral and no 'stale biscuits'!

Signatures and signatures. Paintings, Murals, and Petitions. I usually try to sign paintings in places that are difficult to see. Mixed in with folliage or dappled shaded areas. The color I use is close to the surrounding area. In murals I also "hide" it. People ask me to please make sure that I sign the painting or mural and I tell them that I already have but they need to look for it. One annoying thing that I have noticed is that I have to spend more time than I would have thought in finding the signature myself. As time passes I can no longer just remember where I signed the work, especially on room murals. I am going to rethink this and perhaps change my signature techniques on murals. It IS annoying to have to look all over the place to find a piece of information that you want to know. On petitions and letters my technique is noticably different. I sign large and clear.

For many years I signed my work just Esther Williams and if you were born before 1960, you know the comments I would get all the time. "Are you the swimmer?" I grew up hearing that all the time, anywhere I had to give my name. I even learned to swim professionally, I had to measure up to that name. When I married, I kept my name, nothing sounded better to me. Ever since the internet came into my life and I developed a website plus sold on eBay for 10 years, I was emailed constantly about being the famous swimmer. I googled the name and I came up with both a jazz singer and an impressionist painter with the same name as the swim/movie star and myself. Too much confusion! All those years I signed my work just Esther Williams would surely frustrate any historians after I leave this earth for several hundred years. Being that the swim/movie star also paints. So, a few years ago, I decided to place a J. for my middle name Jane in between the Esther and Williams, now I feel a great distinction has been made. I still get the "Do you swim?"comments but I feel rest assured that in case one of my oils turns up against any paintings done by the other famed Esther Williams`s, they will not be confused. You can google me by Esther J. Williams and not be lost in a sea of the famous ones. If you google just Esther Williams, I will be found on page 10 or 12 I think. Now, it is much longer to sign my name and I have been working with a sable brush with all but 8 hairs or so cut off to get a fine script signature that fits in the corner. I use a glazing medium to thin out the paint and the application still isn't easy, but looks finer. One point I want to add is that you sign into the wet paint so it adheres to the painting. Even if you are not done, but I don't follow that all the time either. I like to sign in gold oil paint, it looks rich and gives a touch of class.

Although I try to use a signing brush and keep in mind that I want my signature to be uniquely my own I often have trouble with the letters being too large and running into each other. I go over them, wash out my signature with turpenoid, dry it with a paper towel and start all over again. I find that there is no set rule for signing as long as your signature is legible and you include the date. If you have a good writing style that is as impressive as your artwork then it will show. Red is good on certain paintings especially if the lower right hand corner has shadows it makes your signature stand out or use the color that is predominant in your painting because the eye follows that color very naturally along with the other complementary colors. If I try to use a color that I had not used too much in my painting it usually doesn't fit and I have to redo my signature. My uncle who also paints says that he does not date his work because he feels someone will look at it and say it's too old. To me dating gives you a clear sense of an artist's progression and where he or she was in her stage of development. It also helps when your work is later analyzed long after you are gone.

I have to laugh about people's too long names... check this one out: Christine Barbara Friedrichsmeier. 31 letters! Friedrichsmeier, while completely unique, is so long that it tended to detract from the artwork itself. I tried initials, but that didn't work well for me. When I was 13 I decided to use a pseudonym. Keena. It is a contraction of my first name, and a nick name - short and sweet. So it works for me! It is in stylized block letters, and I sign in colours used on the paintings.

I also prefer signed paintings. I used a logo for a brief time as a student, a triangle with my initials, I tried using the copyright sign, and yes it is too pretentious. Especially if you feel your talents are slipping. Zoltan Szabo's imprinting with an inkless ballpoint is great, except you need to do it on a damp surface, with a medium value colour, so that the signature will show up. I find it hard writing with a brush, water colour pencils well sharpened might be a solution. I stopped dating pictures on the front because people do think "old" isn't as good as "new". I also sign my full name, the month and year on the back and often my own filing code. I keep a card for each painting listing the date painted, it's code number price,size and the shows I have entered it in. My code is a simple single letter to denote the medium, last two digits of the year and 2 digits to denote if it was the first or which for that year. A0701 tells me it's acrylic,painted in 2007, and is the first painting of the year. I really enjoy your letters, the demos, and the chance to view other people's paintings. It's an education! Ciao, June R.

Name signing has been such a trial for me. I painted before I was married, thus signed my maiden name. I also signed Jan, not Janet on some, with my surname. I married and signed first name plus new surname, some Jan, some Janet. At one point enjoyed hiding just Jan in watercolors. (I think I'm at five 'signatures'.) First husband died. Remarried. Now signed Jan or Janet Sheen. Makes seven! I know actor Martin Sheen has a wife, also an artist, named Janet Sheen. There is a pressed flower artist and author in Britain named Janet Sheen. I now sign Janet Sheen. My how I wish I knew then what I know now. I would have simply stayed with my birthname, as my surname was distinct. Then, all these years, my art would have been consistent in signature!

Your remark to Karen Sue (Sioux- Saulte) was hilarious! It reminds me of my editor, Forrest J. Ackrman, who had more "play on words" than I ever thought possible. (my last story was included in his ACKERMANTHOLOGY)

The ideas above on 'how to sign' your paintings have been encouraging. Signing for me is using my first and last name although there have been times when I sign initials and last name, but for the future I need to use the one type and be consistent. Like others I try to sign in the bottom right hand corner in such a way that it doesn't distract away from the painting.

Here is a thorough essay on the subject of signatures: http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/s/signature.html

So far, no one has mentioned what I use to sign my name - a sharp graphite pencil. I take great care to place it in a spot that collaborates with the design of the piece and doesn't detract from the work. In order to do this I have my signature in ink on a piece of clear plastic that I move around the bottom part of the painting to get an idea of the best placement; then I sign with my pencil.

The best signature/acronym ever (imo), Neil Boyle, BSWCA. Big Shot West Coast Artist. Check out Neils bio... http://neilboyle.com/biography.html We miss you Neil!!

My initials are MJB. I always thought a unique way to sign my pieces was to bring my initials together into a new design. In this case, the 3 initials are put together as one 'letter'. The body of the J goes over the last line of the M and the B is based on that same line as well. The result? An MB with a few jagged pieces. It creates a personal symbol which fits into a piece unobtrusively.