10 Tips for Designing an Artist Website That Showcases Your Art
Nov 30th, 2010 by Aldouspi

10 Tips for Designing an Artist Website That Showcases Your Art

Here’s the scoop on what you must know when designing a website to showcase your art, impress galleries, and win over collectors. Learn how to avoid the mistakes most emerging artists make when creating their online portfolio.

1. You need an artists website

Any artist who can classify themselves as either “emerging” or “mid-career” will definitely benefit from having their own website to promote their work. At this stage of your career it is important to be able to have a place where anyone in the world can easily access and view your work.

2. Know who you are trying to impress

Are you trying to engage a Soho gallery to sell your ,000 paintings or sell prints to children in Korea? That Soho gallery might not be impressed when they see your online-store selling prints and art cards – but on the other hand, you could make a very handsome living if you really knew how to market those art cards.

3. Make your website fit with your overall art marketing strategy

A website is most effective when it is part of a larger overall marketing strategy for your art. This includes mailings, lots of in-person gallery visits and presentations, regular (physical) showings of your work, and developing relationships with the art world. An effectively planned website can greatly compliment and simplify your other marketing efforts.

4. There is a real market for art on the internet

The internet is quickly becoming an accepted place to showcase your art to collectors and arts professionals. They might still want to see your work in person before they buy, but the fact remains: they saw it first on your website! Having an online art presence is very important at this time.

5. Have your own website and a website portfolio service

A website portfolio service (e.g. www.absolutearts.com or www.art-exchange.com is like an online slide registry. For a fee you can upload images of your work together with a bio, artist statement, and resume. They have many visitors and are a convenient way to make your work accessible to potential clients. The down side is that they don’t display your work well, and there is little flexibility in how the art is showcased.

Your own website, on the other hand will require more work to promote, but you’ll be able to present the work in the most beautiful way. Remember the times you’ve been taken into the dimmer room in a commercial gallery? How that art which looked fairly good on the main gallery wall suddenly became something you had to take home? That’s how a good artist’s website should showcase your work.

We recommend both options – they are a perfect compliment.

6. Have a website that collectors and art professionals will enjoy

Here are some common elements which most dealers and galleries would agree on for your website design:

– Keep the site simple and elegant with the focus on the art itself and don’t overpower the art with a site that looks too busy
– Avoid advertising such as banner adds or sidebar adds. If you must have them, put them in a separate “resource” section
– Avoid complex effects like flash movies. In the time it takes to play your exotic entry page, your visitor may have moved on. Include your bio, artist statement, resume, contact information, gallery(s) of your work, contact information, and a pricelist.

Showcase your work beautifully

You need to have visual design skills to create a beautiful artist website. Here are some points to get you started:

Most Important: Use high-quality, professionally-photographed images. Excellence in, excellence out!
– Keep the website simple and elegant with the focus on the art.
– Create multiple galleries to compliment the work – just as a good physical gallery would do.
– Choose colors that compliment (not overpower) the work. Think of the colors you would use in a physical gallery to showcase your work – neutral colors like crème, white, gray, and good safe choices.
– Think “minimalist” not “busy” for the layout.
– Keep your copy (text) brief. Let the art speak for itself!

7. Bring collectors and galleries to your website

Its no use having that stunning website sitting in hyperspace. Make it work for you! Here are the ways to bring quality visitors:

Search Engines: If your website has been well optimized for search engines, a search on your name or your style of art should bring up your website in the first few pages of results.

Letters of Introduction: A letter of introduction sent to a gallery or dealer is a very effective way to bring a qualified visitor to your website. Better still is to include a brochure or postcard of your work with the letter.

Advertising online or in magazines: For example, if your art is minimalist and modern in style, a banner add on an interior design website focused on the same minimalist ethic could draw a lot of traffic to your site.

You need to be able to sell your work on the internet.

But there are many ways to do it. More important than anything is that you have clear and up-to-date contact information on your website. If a buyer likes your work enough to bring out their checkbook, they will normally be happy to call you to close the sale.

It’s also handy to be able to sell directly from your website, especially if you sell lower-cost reproductions. There are simple and cost-effective ways to do this.


8. Think again before designing your own website.

– Have you really added up the total cost? Here are some questions to consider before you start designing:
– Do you have visual design skills/training?
– Can you wait several months for the site to be ready?
– Can you afford to give up a month or more of your valuable artist time?
– Do you have all the computer software and the relatively-new computer needed to build a high-quality website?
– Are you fully trained in your design software?

Can you answer “Yes” to all of the above? If so, you might think about doing it yourself. Otherwise, hire a designer!

9. Choose your website-designer thoughtfully

The most important thing here is to remember what you are trying to create – a beautiful online gallery space to elegantly show your beautiful work – this is very different from building a high-volume website selling printer ink cartridges and paper rolls!

Look for the ability to design a space to present your work. One way to do this is to find artist websites that you like and then contact the artist to get the name of their designer.

10. Know what you should pay

Artist’s website development prices range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. Typically, bigger design firms have larger overheads and will be significantly more expensive. On the other hand, Joe down the street can probably build you a website for next to nothing – but you probably don’t want that website!

At Beautiful Artist Websites, we have packages where prices generally start at around $2,500. We can also develop fully customized sites to your specifications with prices based on requirements. At our sister site: Espresso Artist Websites, prices start at $995.

Beautiful Artist Websites is a design studio based in Santa Monica, California and Minneapolis, Minnesota. We specialize in the development of beautifully designed artist websites that showcase artists’ work to arts professionals and collectors. Our mission is to help you sell your art. That’s it. There are thousands of good designers to choose from – but only a few understand the special needs of showcasing art. We do.We love art. And we are passionate about design.; We aim for premium quality clean and elegant solutions for all your design needs. Whether it’s a website, an artist brochure or artist DVD we can create an integrated look and feel that will capture the essence of your vision as an artist.

Article from articlesbase.com


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Watercolor Painting Fun For Kids
Sep 15th, 2010 by Aldouspi

watercolor kid

Watercolor Painting Fun For Kids

Many parents buy their kids a simple watercolor set as young as six years old to make painting as easy learning experience for them. Aside from instilling the value of art appreciation, parents encourage their kids to paint using watercolors for many good reasons. Watercolor painting fun for kids can teach them the value of resourcefulness, creativity, patience, and perseverance.

Getting Started

Next to using crayons, kids are very fond of using watercolors when painting. Aside from being an enjoyable activity that kids can share with their parents, painting using watercolor can also be one of those activities they can share with their playmates and friends.

But, before you get too excited in teaching your kids the beauty of watercolor painting, there are some things you need to consider:

1. Interest. The first thing to consider when encouraging your kids to get into watercolor painting is their interest in the craft. If your child is one of those who are into art and into drawing or collecting pretty images, then she or he is the perfect candidate for the activity. This is because she/he already has the drive and the creativity to create another masterpiece. But if your child is not yet interested in crafts and arts, it doesn’t mean he/she cannot indulge into watercolor painting. You may just need to take a different approach with the thought that this is the perfect time to introduce him/her into a new world of exciting and enjoyable activity. The world of art that he or she may not have noticed before.

2. Space. Aside from the desire of your child to explore art, another thing you need to consider is the availability of space where your kids can do the activity. Since watercolor painting can require a lot of materials, you will need a space big enough for them to sprawl out and to scatter the materials they will use for watercolor painting. It is advisable that you provide a space where kids can do their watercolor painting and a place where they can leave their stuff.

3. Availability and cost of supplies. You also need to take into account the amount of materials and the cost of supplies your child will need. Since you are about to teach him or her basic watercolor painting, you will need a basic set of paints and pigments, brushes, papers, palette and water. These items are not too expensive, but knowing your budget will make shopping for these items easier.

Since you will be the one teaching your child about watercolor painting, it would be best if you are familiar with art at some level. This maybe a great opportunity for you to learn watercolor painting on your own. When your child sees you doing the activity, he or she will be influenced in engaging into the craft.

One way to learn the basics of watercolor painting is to take a crash course online. Aside from the basic techniques in watercolor painting, you can also learn painting tips and application methods. By enrolling to an online watercolor painting class, you can also be introduced to different styles and modern techniques.

The length of the various watercolor painting courses available depends on your knowledge about the craft and how much more would you want to learn. But, basic online courses for watercolor painting usually last from four days up to one week. Then, you will be asked to complete the rest of the exercises at home.

But no matter where you are at personally with watercoloring… Introducing your kids to the art of watercolor painting can be fun for you as well as for them.


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