Sometimes I just can't help myself,  and a clever or fun title for a painting just jumps out at me, I have to use it.  Other times I suppress my thoughts, especially if it would define the piece too much.  Let me explain.

Just as we are all individuals, different people see different things in an artwork.  Usually when I am working on a painting of a calf I am thinking of it as either a male or female, and I am always a little surprised when someone refers to it by the opposite gender.  The fact is, often I don't know the gender for sure, if I didn't pay attention when I took the reference photos, which is often the case.

On top of the feelings some people get, just by features like long eyelashes, are the opinions of those in the cattle industry.  They raise these babies and see them day in and day out.  Even among them it seems there is a possibility of either/or when you can't see the bits that make it a for sure thing.  

I posted this cutie on Facebook and asked people to respond if they see a bull calf or a heifer calf and why, so far it looks to be about 50/50 but I am interested in a final tally.  You can check out the comments here. 

This is a simple example of why I don't always give my paintings names that define them, if I did it would get in the way of what you might see, if I told you already what to see.    The result is a lot of paintings with titles like "Calf on Blue" and the like, but it's not the title I want to speak to you, it is the soul of the painting.  I hope that makes sense.  

Please leave a comment, let me know what you see here, a bull calf or a heifer calf, and how would you feel about it if I had titled it the opposite gender of what you see?