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Inspiration and advice for artists.


In the process of building my artist website I ran across a wonderful online photo-journal that absolutely inspired me.

In The Makehttp://inthemake.com is a beautifully produced website that documents studio visits of West Coast artists. Each article features dozens of large photographs of the artist, the artist’s work and studio in order to tell the story of the artist’s creative process. Interspersed between the photos is the transcript of an interview with the artist.

Artists fascinate people. Folks who are interested in your artwork also want to know about you, your personality, your motivations, your studio space, and your process of creating. Your story makes your art more accessible and adds value to your work.

Most artist websites have an artist statement, biography, and perhaps Curriculum Vitae. Often these can be a bit dry and academic, so why not also tell the story of your artwork in a way that does it justice and engages the imagination of your audience?

Show your story in photos

They say pictures are worth a thousand words. Delight your visitors with lots of big, juicy, photos of your studio, or better yet, you in your studio in the process of creating your art. Whether you are a painter, potter or glassblower, people love to see and learn about the process of your work. Go ahead and let them into your world.

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Tell your story in words

Here’s your chance to share the things that motivate and inspire you, as well as anecdotes and your personal quirks. An interview format provides a good structure to tell about yourself in your natural voice, but the text could also be an extended artist’s statement or an article written about you. (As an added bonus, more written copy automatically makes your website more SEO friendly!)

Below is a link to the page that I added to my website

Artist Interview

Being an outdoor painter, I also want to show myself on location. In my experience, people like seeing artists working out in the field and often enjoy engaging in conversation. Painting en plein air is part of my process and seems a natural extension of my studio, and a natural topic to feature for my web audience.

I hope this offers some inspiration for how, as artists, we might tell our story a bit better.

What methods do you use to tell your story?

Special thanks to the creators of In The Make – Klea McKenna, Nikki Grattan, and Dana Laman – for their generosity and inspiration. http://inthemake.com

This article has 2 comments

  1. Dot Courson Reply

    Great introduction to you and your work! Love so much about it and even happy you home school your children. Your work is beautiful!
    The quote you used, “If artists have to write an artist statement then writers should be required to do a little painting to explain their writing” is wonderful and wondered who to credit if I use it at some point on my blog at http://www.dotcourson.blogspot.com? Blessings, Dot Courson

  2. Petra Terslova Reply

    Hello Brennen, thank you for this post. I recently described my story on my blog http://petraterslova.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/hello-art-lovers/. I also paint outdoors – both in nature and crowded cities and I have the same experience curious passers-by. I am always very pleased when they ask me questions about me and my art. It shows their interest in me and my work. It´s actually great way how to share your story and art, too! Best, Petra http://www.petraterslova.com/

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