Paintings done
after the year 2000 will also have a tracking ID on the foam core
backing unless it has been reframed by an outside service;
however, even in that case, it should still have a penciled
tracking number on the back of the painting itself.
More signature examples (and
possibly the painting you have) can be found using the
Directory of Sold Endico watercolors and clicking through to
the larger image for closer inspection.
In her own words Mary explains the
situation thus:
After experimenting with "cute"
signatures in my teens, I settled on using merely Endico in my early
20's
My husband Bob (Fugett) suggested the importance of continuity in my
presentation, so I worked hard at refining my signature.
I recall seeing a signature by
John Pike and noting the artistry with which he penned his name.
While I was a student of Ed Whitney, Ed was experimenting with
signing his own name in different styles in order to fit the subject
matter.
He suggested I try it, but
I snapped his head off saying, "No ... one's signature must always be
recognizable!"
However, to appease Ed I did
experiment with placing my signature in different parts of the
composition, but I found it confused my collectors when they could
not find my name on a painting.
Still, even today, I do
sometimes change the color of my signature as a tribute to Ed's idea
While with Ed, I also remember signing my name before a painting was
finished, and he remarked how unusual that was to do.
I said, "Why? I know it will be
a good painting when I am done."
Ed said I had balls ... LOL
Mary's statement about working
toward consistency belies the degree to which
each signature is as unique as the painting on which it is found.
The Endico
signature is found on over 21,000 original watercolors created by
Mary Endico and sold worldwide, so a distinction must be made between
her hand
written signature (placed on each individual work of art)
and her letterhead advertising logo.
Her familiar
logo signature
is actually a combination of
two separate signatures that were stitched together to achieve a
composition suitable for adding subtext in tightly spaced display ads.
Shown immediately below is a section from
one of several sheets of sample signatures brushed by Mary as choices
for her
advertising logo.
The "co" from the first
full signature
(upper left) was pasted onto the
"Endi"
just below it (middle right) and cleaned up to make the Endico
logo which is used for Mary's print ads, media brochures, and her website.
This logo compositing was done
prior to January 2, 1992 CE, and twenty of the original candidate
signatures are preserved
on acid-free sheets
in the Endico studio archive.
Otherwise, the Endico signature
found on Mary's watercolors varies as much as her many styles of painting, and she often uses
her signature as
just another design element in a larger piece.
Samples are provided above.
