Which side of my drawings and paintings should I sign?

Question

I have always signed my art work on the bottom right hand side. But I've have been told that I should be signing them on the bottom left hand side. So which is it? Thanks.

I was told that if I was to use a photo that is not mine that I would have to sign the left side. Is that true?

Answer 1

I always sign my paintings on whichever lower corner makes the signature least conspicuous. I don't want to have to deal with my signature as a compositional element.

Now I have a comment as to your addition --- "I was told that if I was to use a photo that is not mine that I would have to sign the left side. Is that true?"

I assume this means you have made a painting out of someone else's photograph. This is not a good idea. And I don't know why signing the painting on the left instead of the right would make the photographer feel any better about the fact that you've used his photos without permission. Especially if you sell it.

If you use somebody else's photo in a painting, legally it must be "substantially different" from the original photo, or else it's copyright infringement. My opinion is that "substantially different" means different enough to be unrecognizable as the photographer's work. In other words, you really have only used it as a reference, and not simply copied in in paint.

Answer 2

Does it matter?

Are you going to re-paint or re-draw your old work: no!
So you work will have your signature on the bottom right side.

If you ever become famous then one way of making sure your work is authentic would be that you ONLY sign it on the bottom right side.

Who has the right to tell you where to sign your work? You are an artist and you need artistic freedom! Just because someone did it that way in the past is no reason why YOU have to do it that way now.

I have a reprint of a painting by Salvador Dali: Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate, One Second before Awakening (wow, what a long title) that is signed on the lower right hand side. If it was good enough for Salvador Dali then why can’t it be good enough for you. Of course I have another reprint where he signed it in the middle bottom of the painting. And then on the painting: The Enigma of Desire—My Mother, My Mother, My Mother he went and signed it on the lower left hand side.

Whoever told you that you need to sign it at a certain location isn’t an artist, they are a person constrained by convention and not liberated like you could be. In the final analysis does it really matter where you sign the work, as long as you sign it? I bet Dali felt that way.

Answer 3

There's no wrong place to sign it. I've always been under the impression that most sign on the bottom right corner. But, as with any artwork, the signature too is up to the artist. Some artists even hide there signature within the painting. Sign it where and how you want.

Answer 4

I have always signed my work on the bottom right hand side and so does every other artist I know. Yet this is not a rule cast in stone I guess so you can probably sign your work anywhere you choose.

Answer 5

It doesn't really matter which side you decide, i've even seen some signed on the upper right. My decision as to which side i will sign depends on the painting itself. I use a small strip of paper with my signature on it and place it up against the painting untill it feels like the right place and it doesn't distract from the painting itself.

Answer 6

I always sign the bottom right hand side. I don't even know why,, isn't that where everyone signs there name?? i'm not really sure. I guess it doesn't really matter...the most well known artists are famous for doing something different or unusual with their artwork.

Answer 7

who told you that?

most of the big painters i can think of sign on the bottom right.

the only person i can think of who signed on the bottom left was Bob Ross.

personally, i don't like signing paintings, i think it intrudes on the image i have created. i sign on the edge or back of the canvas, where its out of the way, but still there for people who want the signature.

i used to sign on the stretcher itself, until i realized people can re-stretch a painting, and not only is my signature no longer on that painting, but someone else can attach their painting to my signature.

but it really doesn't matter, unless your in a class, and you need to make the teacher happy for good marks, then its not worthwhile to fight it. put the energy into the painting, not the positioning of the signature.

Answer 8

So many answers to a simple question. If you are not ambidextrous, sign with the hand you use. If you want to be different, and throw people off, use the other. But always use the same.

Answer 9

I never sign a painting. Why? At best it's distracting - unless of course you do a simple "vincent" - I do put a completion date on the back.

Answer 10

Your choice, but you should try and pick one and stick with it. I would recommend the bottom-left corner, myself.