Artists Need a Professional Portfolio
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What is a Professional Portfolio?
To market your art, you need a presentation portfolio that shows that you are an artist who has a track record and who knows a thing or two about business. Think of it as a resume on steroids.
A good marketing portfolio answers the question "Who Are You and Why Should I
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Your web site is a mirror of your portfolio - not a replacement. You need both. Once you have a hard copy portfolio, you can easily create or update your web site or Blog.
What happens when you submit a poor portfolio?
When I ask gallery dealers, curators and artist representatives what eliminates many good artists from even being considered, they say:
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"It looks like the artist just threw this portfolio together. If they do business the same way, I am not interested."
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"The cover letter was addressed to Dear Sir/Madam - did the artist even check our web site to find out who owns the gallery?"
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"The press reviews were barely readable - they were 3rd generation copies. Not only that, the ads for washing machines were right next to the review!"
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"The art might be good, but it's hard to tell from the poor quality images that were included."
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"This artist's resume lists only vanity galleries and now they want us (a national gallery) to represent them?"
Don't let a poor portfolio misrepresent you!
A great portfolio opens doors for you when you least expect it.
"Last year, a talented artist submitted his very professional portfolio of silver sculpture to me... The artist had a solid background in the arts, good inventory and serious credentials, and was reaching out to dealers in cities across the country hoping for greater exposure of his work. His promotional materials ... were nicely presented; the photos of his work were compelling. The artist was both articulate and polite on the phone and his correspondence was direct and to the point. Even though I was impressed with both him and his portfolio, I passed on representing him because his style of art was not suited to the collectors in my community. I recommended that he submit his work to galleries... I even thought of a few places where his work might sell. I gave him the names and numbers of several good galleries to contact... He seemed happy for the feedback, and thanked me for not sending him away empty-handed."
"A Gallery Without Walls - Selling Art in Alternative Venues" Artist representative Margaret Danielak*, graduate of the Artist Career Training Workshop, author and owner of Danielak Art.
How do you create your first professional portfolio?
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What if you already have a Portfolio?
You can use our guidelines to spruce it up on your own, or we can give you feedback. You have two choices:
The A.C.T. Portfolio Review ensures that your portfolio meets the standards that art professionals look for:
· Do you have a strong signature body of work?
· What is your career history?
· How, when and where do you show and sell your work?
· What is your price range?
· What experience do you have working with representatives?
We review your portfolio against 65 criteria. We give your portfolio a rating, and list the areas for improvement. Buy now for $65.00.· What is your career history?
· How, when and where do you show and sell your work?
· What is your price range?
· What experience do you have working with representatives?
The A.C.T Portfolio Consultation helps you go from a good to great. We start off with a portfolio review and then arrange a telephone consultation to go over each page to help you brand your portfolio.
You make the changes and send us the next version. You can send us as many versions as you want until you are satisfied. Buy now for $150.00.
It takes a good career plan and lots of attention to detail to create your work and to build a sustainable art career, so it is worth an impeccable portfolio. Your professional portfolio must be as good as your art if it is to be successful. This is not the place to rush or scrimp.
P.S. I just came back from NANPA (National Association of Nature Photographers) where Bruce K. Haley, Jr. and I met with over 150 fine art nature photographers. If you were there, we have a bonus for you - samples of Bruce's materials so you can see what a great portfolio in photography looks like. Send an e-mail to Aletta@ArtistCareerTraining.com once you have placed your order.
*FTC Disclosure: When we find artists like Tara Reed who have deep, proven experience in a topic that will help you make a better living making art, we put them front and center. When these fine folks offer services and products that are first class, sometimes we agree to help each other get the word out to you with an "affiliate" arrangement, which means that we will earn a small commission for referring you to their resources. Those are marked with an asterisk.
Posted on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 10:26AM
by
Aletta de Wal
in ArtMatters! Tip, portfolios
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1 Comment
Aletta de Wal
in ArtMatters! Tip, portfolios
|
1 Comment
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