Category: CPS 3302

Artist websites provide a way of showcasing your work and gaining an audience with the potential to gain important contacts. Most artists have a website when they start their careers.

A clear menu is vital to provide easy navigation and good quality photos are important for professionalism. The site requires a concise summary and a short artist statement to give a clear idea of what your work is about. 

I have started to make a website on the Wix website which is a free platform specifically for websites. I have included the important pages being Home, Artworks, About, and Contact.

Examples of artist websites: 

Robert Phelps has a very simple artist website with the pages included being portfolios, artist info, contact, shop, blog, and links to his social media. His work is categorised into different animal groups on his home page is successful as it makes finding specific work easier and is less

The format of his paintings being grouped together works well as it shows the similarities and differences between the work and makes it easier to navigate. Clicking on the images enlarges them, as shown in the image below, and includes information about the paintings which works well and is something I would like to include on my website.

Robert Phelps included a photo of himself on his artist information page with a selection of his paintings exhibited on the wall behind him. This image is suitable as it allows his viewers to have an understanding of who has created the work that they are interested in, although this isn’t always needed on artists’ websites as the images can be unsuitable which is why it is important to get a professional photo taken during an exhibition or a very formal private set up to ensure that the photo doesn’t lose professionalism.

I feel that the simplicity of the Robert Phelps website is effective as it allows the artworks to speak for the artist rather than the viewer being distracted by bold colours or distracting titles. It has a professional feel to it and is put together nicely.

• MORE EXAMPLES OF ARTIST WEBSITES, INSPIRATION – MY LIKES/DISLIKES
• DISCUSS IMPORTANT FEATURES OF ARTIST WEBSITES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

Rebecca Haines Artist Website:

Rebecca Haines included these pages on her website:

• Welcome Page
• About the Artist
• Artist Statement
• Gallery One
• Gallery Two
• News
• Contact
• Resume

Rebecca Haines is another artist I have done research on for my project and so I felt it would be appropriate to look at her artist website for inspiration. I love the simplicity of her website as the banner of a picture of one of her artworks creates a nice contrast and draws the viewer in. I like that the Welcome part is a different colour to the menu as this again makes an area that pops. Rebecca Haines included a photo of herself in her welcome page which I like but I don’t have any professional artist photos with my work or in my studios so I may put this off until I am able to get a photo which reflects me professionally.

Rebecca Haines included another photo of herself in her about the artist page which is interesting as it shows her with two of her artworks which is good as it allows the viewer to connect the art with the artists and this is something I would eventually like to do when I have finished works. The information she included in this page is a very in depth biography which I find quite overwhelming but I would like to include something like this on my own website to give viewers more of an insight into me as an artist and my general intentions that I can’t put across in my statement.

I like that Rebecca Haines Artist Statement is short and sweet as if it would have been any longer I feel that it may have been overwhelming like the about the artist page. I love that she has included three different images of her work alongside the statement as this showcases her different final products she has created with her ideas and intentions. The artworks all include different animals and have very different effects which I find very captivating.

Rebecca Haines included two groups of work in her website, one called ‘gallery one’ and the other called ‘gallery two’ which showcase different animals and different techniques. I like this idea but I feel that if my works were fairly similar like these works are in context, then I would separate them through sub menus rather than having them have their own page but there may be a method or reason behind Rebecca Haines deciding to do this on her website.

The news page includes any exhibitions Rebecca Haines is currently in or has been in the past, with images which I feel works well in allowing viewers to know what she is up to and where they can see her work in person. It also shows her success as an artist with some articles written about her as well. I don’t feel that I have got much experience with as many exhibitions as Rebecca Haines so I feel that it would be a good idea to leave this out for now and possibly add a page like this once I have more experience.

Rebecca Haines has a quite simple contact page which is interesting. I feel that I would want mine to be a bit more detailed but this format must work well for Haines. I like that she has included a range of her social medias at the bottom of the page for people to go and look at and find out more about her.

Rebecca Haines resume page has made it clear just how little experience I have exhibiting work but this gives me ambition to one day have this much experience and prove to myself that I can make it in the art world.

My website so far:

https://gemmasly.wixsite.com/website-1

Pages I included:

• Home – information about the website
• About the artist – information about me and my journey with art
• Artist Statement – short artist statement
• Artworks – artworks from third year project, need to add second year work
• Contact – page for people who visit my website to ask questions or make enquiries

I decided to alternate the banner at the top of each page, being the purple cow on the odd numbered pages (first, third and fifth) and the blue cow on the even pages (second and fourth) to make it more visually exciting. I decided to position these banners with the cows eyes being the main focus as I feel that the eyes are a reflection of the soul and allow the animals to communicate with the viewer

I haven’t got an appropriate photograph of me with my artwork to upload and so I decided to make it one of my paintings for now. I also haven’t figured out exactly what I want to write in this section yet but I feel that it will give people more understanding about me combined with the artist statement.

My short artist statement:

I am currently focusing on exploring the ethics of keeping animals, particularly farm animals, in captivity. This topic is so normalised in day to day life through farms and even animals in the countryside which we see when driving to places. I am hoping to give a voice to animals and allow them to communicate how being in captivity makes them feel and impacts on them. Colour is an important aspect of my work to represent how humans are often hypocrites who claim to care about the welfare of animals but don’t actually do anything to better the situation. Subtlety is important to me as I want to make people see through sympathy rather than disgust or outrage from violent imagery, the innocent imagery is very important to me. The idea of humans being regarded as more important than animals has always saddened me as we are similar in so many ways and animals deserve a lot more respect than we give them. There is more to animals than becoming a food for us to consume or a form of entertainment.

• Exhibitions – research exhibition specific websites and different art galleries
• Making contacts in the creative industry – joining an art group of some sort to engage in crits and meet other artists
• Competitions
• Selling work – consider what sites to use

Since I don’t have a lot of experience on my CV and I’m not interested in pursuing a master’s degree straight after my bachelor’s degree, I feel that it’s a good idea to focus on getting my work into the real world through exhibitions and competitions which will allow me to make contacts and could lead me to gain some unique experiences/opportunities in the future.

Information about gallery spaces and exhibitions:

When it comes to becoming a self-employed artist, there are two questions you should ask yourself – What are your ambitions? and what are your hopes/dreams? The size of these ambitions matters as they show where you want to end up, which could be within the local art world, the national art world, or the international art world. There can also be crossovers, with some artists going from one to another throughout their careers. Most people begin locally and so this is something to consider, which city, place or practice do you want to start out in?

As well as different art worlds, there are also different exhibition venues including self-hire/manage, commercial and artist-run:

• The self-hire/manage exhibition venues are very expensive and used by artists making specific work for people they know are definitely going to buy the work.

• The Commercial exhibition venues include semi-craft shops and galleries in Cork Street. It is vital to be aware of all the different types of Commercial galleries and a good starting point would be to research London based galleries and then go to visit them in your spare time to see the types of art that are exhibited – then can understand if your work fits their criteria’s. Most often with commercial venues, you have to be introduced to the galleries before they even consider you in the exhibition – good idea to establish yourself beforehand and do a lot of networking.

• Artist-run exhibition venues are often attached to studio spaces and artists collectives such as Two Queens in Leicester. The work in these venues doesn’t usually have success commercially but it allows artists to exhibit on their own terms without being told to change their work to fit a particular space or theme. Artists have also found non-gallery spaces to present their work since most galleries can be picky/closed off or difficult to get into.

Non-gallery spaces include empty spaces which are commissioned. Gardens, outdoor areas, work made specifically to be presented in particular venues. In some places, shop owners allow artists to use their empty shops whilst away to prevent areas from becoming derelict.

Billboard companies also allow artists to present their work for a cheap price or sometimes for free as this is advantageous for the billboard companies to create greater visibility and remind businesses that the companies still exist. Commercial companies often do things to benefit themselves.

Often using empty shops or other similar venues requires public liability insurance which is incredibly expensive as you are considered a commercial company. Artists are able to obtain cheaper public liability insurance through access which is an arts organisation that publicly buys public liability insurance.

A key area to research is art organisations. The A.N (previously known as the artists’ newsletter) is a good thing to subscribe to for the legality of being an artist and it has a lot of information making it a good service.

A.N has a section dedicated to art assistant jobs – both artist assistants and gallery assistants. It is important to think about your skillset and what skills may need to be developed to suit this job. These jobs are very variated, can be fun or difficult depending on how demanding the person/people you are working for are.

• Artist assistant – gives you an insight into how the art world works which is important as it is a complex system. This also gives you the chance to build a network of connections that can come in handy in future endeavours. Can involve making cups of tea or sweeping the floor, even making the artist’s work.
• Personal assistants – sometimes artist assistants can be promoted to becoming personal assistants which involves booking trains or materials for private viewings, sourcing things.
• Gallery assistant jobs – often through internships, involve a lot of computer work via setting up websites, handling social media.

Finding exhibition opportunities:

Looking into opportunities on the websites Art Rabbit, Art Quest, Arts Hub, Arts Connect and many more will be vital for gaining exhibition experience as well as locating galleries that suit my personal style or do frequent exhibitions could also give me a better chance of being chosen.

Art Rabbit website:

ArtRabbit is a good site to use as it focuses on opportunities in and around Leicester which is convenient for me as I live in Leicester and I have lived here my whole life. I have no intentions of moving out of Leicester anytime soon due to finances so this will continue to be relevant for me for a long time – even after University.

Curator Space website:

Curator Space is a website which has opportunities for both artists and curators, as well as showing what is currently popular in the artworld. Since I first joined, I have found some exciting opportunities to apply for.

Art Quest Website:

Art Quest seems to have a lot more advanced artist opportunities involving science based ideas and activities which I find interesting. However, I don’t feel that I am educated enough on science based subjects and so these probably wouldn’t be suitable for me but I will look on the website regardless. It also included some interesting artist residencies which I will look into and add to my residency post.

Arts Hub Website:

Arts Hub has a range of different opportunities including awards/prize opportunities, calls for artists, photography, visual arts and painting which makes this a good place for opportunities which will build up your CV which is very beneficial for employment down the line.

Applying to some exhibitions:

First exhibition application:

I came across this exhibition opportunity on artrabbit and decided to go for it as it looked like a good opportunity and could be a great way for me to gain experience to add to my CV.

This is my application, I submitted three of my artworks to boost my chances of being chosen, as this isn’t guaranteed. Upon reflection, I feel hat I should have included the pdf explaining my work and concepts as this may not be obvious from just looking at my paintings – although I think it’s a good idea for people to come to their own conclusions. Now I have to wait to see if I’ll be selected for the exhibition in May 2022, I will keep posting updates here when I hear back.

Update about London Lighthouse Exhibition:

Unfortunately I wasn’t successful in my attempt to exhibit at the London Lighthouse exhibition. This is the response I received on Tuesday 5th April 2022. Numbers of submissions and the fact I submitted work near the deadline meant I wasn’t selected. I am aware that my art may not be for everyone from one of my crits so I take this with a linch of salt. It is simply something that happens during the process of submitting your work to exhibitions, you win some, you lose some. Onwards and upwards.

Second opportunity application:

I came across this opportunity on Curator Space where you submit pictures of your work and information about it for the chance to be featured on an Instagram page. Although this isn’t a full on exhibition, I feel that this could help me gain more attention on my art Instagram page and get my name out there more, which could lead to more exciting opportunities in the future. Gaining more visibility could allow me to hear from other people about how my work is going and give constructive criticism to help me develop it further.

The condition of entries was work which relates to the natural/metaphysical world and since my current project involved ideas concerning the captivity of animals, I felt that this was a very fitting idea and I feel that I have a good chance of being selected for this based on this information.

I only wrote a small bio and statement since it specified it being brief and so I was worried about overdoing it so decided to keep it short and sweet.

I haven’t yet finished my artist website, I still have areas to improve and so I decided not to include my website for this reason.

Although it said I could submit 5 images, it would only allow me to upload 3 even though the sizing’s were all correct so I decided to just upload 3 of the most successful paintings from the opinions of my peers during my crit. I feel that these paintings portray my project nicely and could help me to be successful in the selection process.

I added information about materials used and the titles.

I am excited to see if I am selected for this opportunity and I found it quite interesting to see if I can get my work promoted in a different way than a physical exhibition through an online platform which could have a lot of visibility which could benefit me greatly in the future.

Unfortunately my application for this opportunity was denied which I was a bit disappointed about but we move onwards and upwards. It is a part of life and your work isn’t always going to be selected. I just need to keep on applying and putting myself out there

Third opportunity application:

I came across this opportunity to be featured on the ‘Haus A Rest’ Zine, Instagram and Facebook pages for one month or more. Again, like the Instagram opportunity previously, this gives me a chance to get my work seen by more people and allow me to make more contacts which could be very beneficial for my artistic endeavours or future opportunities. The theme for submissions being consumption fits perfectly with my project, as farm animals in captivity often end up being sent to the slaughterhouse so I felt this was very relevant to my project.

Update on the Haus-a-rest submission:

Unfortunately I wasn’t accepted for this opportunity as my work doesn’t fit well with the other work or theme and so they most likely meant a more literal sense of ’consumption’. They encouraged me to follow them back on instagram so that I can apply for future opportunities as they do them quite frequently so that gives me a good sense of worth as they seem to like my work.

Having access to their instagram page allows me to see how diverse their open calls are and the fact that they include a range of different art works and styles on their page which gives me hope for the future.

Another Opportunity:

• Closing Date – June 12th
• Location – United Kingdom
• Artform – visual arts
• Artists can submit up to four artworks

website for more information – https://www.exetercontemporaryopen.com/about-the-exhibition1

• Exhibition will run from 15th September – 6th November and is open to any medium of art
• £5 entry fee
• Work needs to have been created in the last two years
• Short artist statement and websites can be provided
• Successful applicants will be informed by Monday 4th July
• Some awards up for grabs (£1000, £500 or £200)
• Maximum size of entry for 2D work is 200 cm x 200 cm

Steps of applying:

1. Read guidelines
2. Pay £5 entry fee
3. Complete submission form

I payed the small fee of £5 so that I could continue with my application. Usually fees are a lot higher than this so I was quite surprised – on the website it says it has reduced fees from £20 due to the long lasting effects of the pandemic which I thought was a nice gesture as a lot of people wouldn’t be able to afford an expensive fee.

This was the start of the submission form which told me exactly what I needed to include.

I added my short artist statement and my website link which could come in handy if they see an artwork which they feel would fit in more with the exhibition, widening my chances of being accepted.

This is a screenshot of me adding my artwork information and images.

These are the artworks I submitted. I feel that these are some of my strongest pieces and I hope that I get selected for this opportunity as it will allow me to build on my CV.

The form went through a checklist to ensure that I had done everything which I found helpful.

I submitted my application form so now I have to wait to see the results. I am happy with my submission and hope to hear good news on Monday 4th July. Unfortunately the timing of this exhibition means I won’t have received confirmation until after I submit my CPS work but I have proof of application and in the meantime will do an online exhibition whilst I search for more exhibition/competition opportunities.

Cons of exhibitions:

• Fees to enter your work
• No guarantee that your work will be chosen
• High amounts of people submitting work
• Requirements for specific themes so may have to explore new subject matter
• Can be stressful – lots of preparations involved in exhibitions
• Sometimes receive negative reactions to your work – have to have thick skin and be able to take criticism (both constructive and non)
• Amount of people who visit exhibitions vary so only certain people will see your work
• In a large gallery there will be a lot of works selected and so your work could get overlooked

Although this is a good way of gaining experience for my CV and making myself seen by employers, there are also some cons as a lot of exhibition entries require money for you to submit your work and there isn’t a guarantee that your work will be chosen. In order to afford this, I will need to be making some kind of income which I hope will be through my creativity but I will go for any job to provide an income for myself and build up to a creative job when I get the chance to. There are also some that are free to enter so this isn’t always a concern but it may