In this video, I discuss the question of whether or not signatures are important on artwork. I share my opinion that signatures are important in the sense that collectors buying original artwork anticipate finding a signature somewhere on the work. I also share my opinion that where you sign or how you sign is a matter of personal preference. Ultimately, it is up to the artist to decide how they want to sign their work.
How do you sign your art? Have you struggled with your signature? Have questions you would like me to answer in future sessions? Leave a comment below!
Hi Jason, on a diptych, do I sign it on the front only on the 2nd panel? with sig on back for both panels? The art is representational, and is not meant to be seen independently
Sign your work! I have owned and run a gallery for 40 years. Almost inevitably when a person decides to purchase a work, the next question is where is it signed. I have been told young artsts don’t want to sign their work- know it will impact your sales.
agreed – well said.
I agree with you; as an artist I know it makes sense to sign and make it discreet
I sign my work with a stylized initial on the lower right corner.I have for several years. However, I leave a full signature on the back with the serial number of the piece. I work in pastels and oil pastels, so the signature can be smudged on the front. I use permanent ink on the back. I thought about using the ink on the front but didn’t care for the way it looks. Thus opting for the full signature on the back. What are your thoughts on this?
I hap a 4 letter last name, easy to print
KEPP with a line under it.
I am lucky, easy to read
For my younger years, and I have no idea how I decided this was the thing to do, I did not sign my name. I eventually learned, at the request of my collectors, to sign my work, using my first name because it’s unique and short…a small but important detail, our signature!
I sign vertically on the lower right side of the painting. In my view, distracts less from the art work. I have not noticed anyone else doing it this way.
I like this idea!
I’m a figurative sculptor and wondering about signature placement myself… thinking it will have to go on the support.
Most of the paintings I’ve done are at “Paint Nites” and I felt funny signing my name until looking around the room and seeing how Very different every painting is.
Thank you for this topic. It’s been bugging me!
A teacher I have says to sign it on the back,
but collectors/buyers want the sig on the front.
I like the idea of signing on the front right bottom, and now I feel confident to do just that, because of your shared experience.
Thanks again.
I sign and print my name on the back of my work.
Occasionally, but not very often i print it on the front.
My signature is not readable, but I have been told by gallerists that they love it,.
So i do sign my works but always print my name under my signatures.
I always sign my work the same way without too much fanfare. I agree with you that collectors want to see the signature. I am also proud to produce my hard earned work and I am thrilled to see my name on it!
Since I do western art, I designed a “Cattle Brand”which I had made into a rubber Then on the back, I sign my name and title the art. I figured the brand looked good, fit the subject matter, and was recognizeable. then the signature onthe back was the identification. I’ve had people ask me to put the stamp on older pieces, even when my signature is already on it. They seem to like it so far. Does this sound okay to you?
Sounds very fitting! I had thought of doing a Chinese-style stamp, but it doesn’t fit my work, so NO! But the branding idea is spot-on!
Sounds very Asian. Traditional-style Asian ink painters use a “chop” (or several) to stamp their work.
Sorry, that was supposed to say I had my cattle brand made into a rubber stamp.
Hi, I sign my name on the bottom right or the bottom left corners.
I’ve struggled but I’ve made up my mind. It’s not about me it’s about the art- signature on the back.
Often if my work remains in my studio or home, I don’t necessarily sign it, but not because I don’t think signatures are important. It has more to do with the struggle to reconcile the signature with the composition of the work. But once I know a piece is going in a show, or to a buyer I almost always overcome my resistance and find a way to sign it. Where and how I sign varies according to the medium, the composition and the size of the work. With smaller works I often just use my initials and I don’t always use the same medium as the work itself. I have been known to sign oils in pencil, acrylic and watercolor works in ink, and I use oil stick on other works. I find brushes awkward and nerve-wracking with which to make a signature. I also often print my name and the title of the work on the back. I am proud of my work I want people to know who did it. On a few occasions, I forgot to sign works and buyers brought them back to me for a signature. I happily complied and I think that is evidence that buyers and collectors do care about the presence of an artist’s signature. I think one of the masters of the artist signature was without-a-doubt Vincent van Gogh. His simple Vincent, often incorporated into the composition of the work is brilliant.
I started selling before I married and signed my first and last name and date because that’s what we were told to do. Then I married, and added his last name. Then I married a second time, dropped the previous married name and added the new last name, which is rather long. By that time, I had stopped painting and was only doing drawings so I could do a discreet signature that was still legible.
Now I’m painting again and discovered that signing my now long name with a brush took up too much room and drew attention (plus it was difficult and I’m old enough to detest useless work), so…. I just sign my initials in a kind of logo style on the front and sign the needed details in pencil on the back.
I use pencil because I don’t trust ink to not fade with the years. Yes, indelible ink does fade.
Question to anyone: I primarily use gallery-wrapped canvases, and started to sign on the back on the stretcher bar. Does this pose a problem? Or should I sign on the back of the canvas itself?
I sign on the right edge of gallery wrap canvas. Gallery wrap is great because this allows to sign the work without any distraction to the composition on the main area. I do continue my paintings over the edge.
Great question! Good to know a gallerist’s and their collectors’ pov.
I’m disappointed when I see art I like and can’t find out whose it is. I’d like to follow up by checking out more of that artist’s work online, and there’s no way to do so. Enough said – note to self!
In the past I wasn’t totally fussed about signing right away (or at all) but in recent years I’ve begun to do it once I decide it is finished – right there and then, for my own sake. It is a “rite of passage” for the artwork. I allow it to be finished, and complete. I take a stand for it, and move on to another work. It also helps me remember when I made it (!) and chart my progress in various ways.
Where and how? Wherever it works. I’ve signed on the edges of gallery wraps, on the front (mostly on the lower edge somewhere) in a subtle paint shade, or in pencil, depending on the medium. And always on the back, though that is not seen in a work under glass with mats etc. I agree with Ginny, the material has got to be paint or pencil …though pencil is easily removed. I sometimes put acrylic over it to “fix” it, like on the back of wood panels.
I have variedly put initials (paint) or written out (pencil) which I probably should firm up to be consistent. So, yes, I’m proud to put my name on my work, yet definitely want it to be low key.
A “certificate of authenticity” seems WAY too crass, but Saatchi online suggests it. What are your thoughts, Jason – anyone?
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a certificate of authenticity. When I was a picture framer, we used to make folders for them and adhere the certificate to the back of the piece quite often. I kinda forgot about it until your post. Now I’m thinking I should make COAs for my originals too. I think the buyer appreciate it and there’s nothing crass about it. What do you all think?
CoA’s are only as good as the one issuing it. If you’re a nobody, nobody’s going to care. And I would argue pen over pencil; pencil smudges too easily. While some pens can fade, there’s also plenty of 100-year-old baseballs with perfectly legible signatures on them, so AI wouldn’t worry too much.
I sign it in the front, and I incorporate it into the design somehow so it is subtle, you kind of have to look for my signature to find it.
My issue is this:
When I was married, I used to paint, and then sign my work with my initials TM. Then I got divorced and went back to my maiden name, but thought what if I get married again someday and I have to change my initials again? People will be confused. So I started signing my work Lovely11. I was born on the 11th day of the 11th month in 74 (7+4=11). Also, almost everyone I know has some kind of art moniker. But then I had a couple of people who have no affiliation with galleries or artists, tell me I need to sign my name- Tara Weeks. They said people want art by me, they don’t know who Lovely11 is. So now I just started signing it Tara Lynn Weeks. And I have one piece that I put Lovely11 and my whole name in it. What do you all think? Should I keep signing it Lovely11 or should I sign my full name Tara Lynn Weeks. I’m not famous or anything so it doesn’t matter if I pivot now. Thank you
My recommendation is to just sign your full name.
In the past I have forgotten to sign a painting and it became a real difficult situation so I now sign as soon as I feel the painting is at least 90% finished.
I prefer the traditional of signing on the lower right had side since that is usually the first place people look.
My preference is that the signature is not disruptive to the flow so I now use a #2 pencil to inscribe my signature in wet paint of the painting. If the painting is too dry I may add a dash of paint to rewet an area for the signature.
Sorry, but I have really strong feelings against signing with bright colors or extra large signatures.
I believe artists should always sign their work on the front. When I see art that I like that is hanging, with no signature, I have no idea who made it.
An artist’s signature is really, really important to the buyer. After purchase, a buyer will talk to friends about their experience of buying as much or more than they will about the art (sorry, artists). I say this from over 40 years of gallery ownership (plus being an artist myself). They want to be able to see and point to that signature. Of course you don’t want it to interfere with the art. So use a color that doesn’t stand out too much, located on right or left – doesn’t matter- and just your last name if necessary or a mark, like Albrecht Durer did, on the front, but be consistent. Put the whole name and date on the back. But for the sake of your customer’s pride -and your continuing relationship – please sign.
I sign my art in the lower left. The color of my signature is normally darker than lower left corner of the composition.
I agree with you Jason, it being the artist’s personal preference. I sign both on the front lower right corner and the back. Just in case the front signature is hard to read, I sign the back with a oil based marker.
For about 90% of my paintings – I sign in the lower right corner on the front. I also sign the back along with the name of the piece. I will move the front signature sometimes because of the image. Most of my art is rather playful and I have been known to sign in places where you really have to search for it. Customers seem to like that and have positive comments on how that adds to experience.
I look at the composition before deciding where to sign the painting. My goal is to sign the work legibly with my logo signature placed where the frame rabbet will not obscure it and in a color and location that does not rob attention from the subject or feeling of my painting.
I’ve been painting for a long time now and over the years I have made my signature less prominent than when I began painting. I don’t like the looks when my signature is prominently placed in the lower right corner. I also sign my work in a shade darker or lighter than the place I choose to sign; usually along a leaf or whatever part of the painting I place my signature. I work with a group of artists and it seems we all have a different way to sign.
Thanks for addressing this topic, Jason.
I sign my works in the bottom right hand corner 99% of the time. It’s small and unobtrusive however, after my signature is a small red handprint. It’s always red. I want people to ask me what it means because I want to to explain our mudered and missing indigenous women.
Absolutely, Sign your work remembering that as you do, you are adding another element to the piece. Clients have told me that they love the way I sign.
I create mixed media 3 dimensional art and sign everything on the back, which is usually on a cradled wood box otherwise it would distract from the work in front of the piece.
Do watercolors sell? If so, is there an optimal size? Optimal orientation (landscape vs portrait)?
Thanks Nick Conkle
This is a great and important discussion! My question….some of my paintings are very dark in the lower right hand corner. I feel like using a white pen would be very distracting. Otherwise, what to do? Also, a lot of my pieces are 6″ x 6″ and I always felt a signature would be very distracting. But important, according to this post. So just make the initials or name smaller to match the overall size? Thanks everyone!
Is it ever appropriate to sign with initials on a small piece and a last name or full name on a larger piece? Or should it all be consistent regardless of size of piece?
Have always signed/marked the front, mainly as a meager attempt to discourage copying the work digitally. Recently started adding title, year/date and ‘signature’ on the back.