Monday, September 27, 2010

Watercolorist's Website Features Extensive Portfolio

Maud Durland's website, maudart.com, includes biographical information about the artist, current shows, awards, and gallery representation.  But the primary feature of the site is the extensive portfolio section, with over a dozen pages divided by theme. 

The portfolio pages feature good size thumbnails... big enough to give a general idea of the overall work.  Clicking on a thumbnail displays a larger image, and for many of the works, an order form for purchasing Giclee prints, art prints, or even the original work if it is still available.

This is a well-designed and highly functional site for a successful professional artist.

Monday, September 20, 2010

High impact images create a dramatic website

Collin Bogle creates realistic nature art. He's chosen several dramatic samples of his work to use as page backgrounds on his site, collinbogle.com, creating an immediate impact on site visitors.

Collin's site has "all the basics" we expect from a good artist site: consistent, easy navigation, basic info on the home page, gallery and event pages, and info on purchasing his work.

The use of dramatic images sets the site apart and invites the visitor to explore further. Congratulations to Collin on an effective artist website.

Monday, September 13, 2010

An attractive portfolio page

Fantasy artist and illustrator Michelle Hoefener has a very basic website. In fact the site, raingate.net, is just a single page!

But on that single page, Michelle provides a bit of background about herself, a link to a downloadable resume, an e-mail contact link, and two portfolio sections that provide a good representation of her work. By using her own work as a page background, she's created an attractive site with a lot of impact.

There is also a link to the artist's page at deviantART, where she maintains a journal and posts new work.

Hoefener's site shows that a basic site need not be boring, and can be an effective showcase for the artist and her work.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Something a little different!

A good artist website needs to be simple to navigate, provide relevant information about the artist, and showcase the artists work. 

This can lead to a certain "sameness" among art sites.  That's not a bad thing...  remember, the goal of the site is to promote the artists and their work, not win awards for creative web design!

But still, it's refreshing to find sites that show off the artist's personal style while still not distracting the visitor from the artwork.

We think Joshua Hicks's website, spiritsofmirkwood.com, has just the right balance.   It's easy to get around the site.  The portfolio pages work well.  There's basic information about the artist.  But the site still manages to convey a sense of Joshua's style.