If you are an artist, you need to have an artist portfolio in order to sell your art, no matter what kind of art you create. Before the internet the only way to share your portfolio with people was to have all of your work together and carry it with you from place to place. Or, at the very least, you could set up your work in a gallery that caters to local artists.
However, with the internet your portfolio can be in many forms and in many places, all at once. You want to make sure that you are getting your portfolio seen by as many people as possible, which help increase your chances of actually selling your art.
Here are some tips for places to create and share your artist portfolio.
Setting Up A Website
Your main online portfolio should be centered in a website. There are plenty of free website options out there, from Wix to WordPress. Pick the site that best fits your budget, web design savvy, and your needs, at start creating.
Make sure that you have gallery pages for each of the different types of art that you do. If you are like many artists you use numerous mediums. Maybe you do watercolors, sculpting, and you are a photographer. Make sure you have a page for each.
Set up an about page so people know who you are and what they are doing on your website. You may also want to set up a shopping cart, or at least post a page telling people where they can find your work and what they need to do to commission a piece of art from you.
Blogging About It
Whether or not your blog is attached to your website, even artists need to blog. It’s a good way to let people get to know you and your expertise. Share photos of works in progress, and talk about what inspires you to create art.
You may also want to reach out to other bloggers and find out about having an interview done with you, or an article about your creations, like this one about the founder of the art gallery Park West Gallery. The more mentions of you online the easier you will be found.
Using Facebook
While there are plenty of social media options out there, Facebook offers the most bang for your buck (or for free, anyway). Set up an artist page, and maybe even start a group where you can share your work with other artists.
You also want to make sure you are using your FB account to promote your website and your blog posts, not just your artwork.
Going Old School
Not every art gallery has a website or is on social media, so if you want to get your artwork into local shops you may want to consider having an old school portfolio too. In this you can have original pieces of your art, photos of your art, and whatever else you can think of, as well as some sort of printout and business card you can leave with the people you speak with so they remember who you are.
Get your art out there. If you don’t you’ll never be able to sell it and will always be a starving artist.
