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On naming my recent paintings.
How the botanical titles began
When I finished the first painting in this series, in April 2024, I had no idea it was the beginning of something much larger. By April 2025 there were 71 paintings in total! The muse was unequivocal: ‘give it a botanical name’. It wasn’t a suggestion, it felt like a directive from somewhere deeper than thought. Much like the voice that once, during a life-threatening moment, told me: “It doesn’t have claws, it can’t hold onto you, keep the mouth open.”
That kind of voice doesn’t ask. It instructs. So I did as I was told.
After that first painting was complete, I entered the phase I always do — sitting with the work. Not analyzing it, but seeing it. Softening the gaze, letting my focus shift between the inner and outer world, looking for the “elbows” that stuck out. I took notes, metaphorical, metaphysical, sometimes psychological impressions that emerged from spending time in deep attention.
From those notes, I began to shape a name. I looked up Latin-sounding terms that captured the painting’s essence - not strict Latin, but something adjacent. I shaped the genus and species names until they felt right. Until they carried weight, rolled off the tongue, or caught in the throat the way the painting did. I didn’t want randomness, I wanted resonance. The first one: Azureomycelium…
