How to Create an Artist Portfolio
An artist portfolio is the method by which an artist displays the breadth of his or her talent to agents, galleries, buyers and critics. Assembling a portfolio may seem like a daunting task, but fortunately you can create an artist portfolio more easily than you think.
- Select the type of portfolio you will use. Some artist portfolios are collections of the actual physical artwork itself, especially if the works are drawings, prints or photographs. However, digital portfolios, which contain digital images of the works, are also becoming very popular in the Internet age.
- Gather your artwork together and group it by medium or theme so you can compare your works with each other. Group your artwork in the way that makes the most sense to you. For example, if you went through a period where you painted landscapes in only one medium, it would make sense to group those landscapes together. By contrast, if you work in charcoal, watercolor and oil paint, you can group works in those media together.
- Select a few of the best works in each group. If you have difficulty doing this yourself, seek the input of an objective observer. It is often difficult for artists to assess the quality of their own work. Ask the opinion of someone whose judgment you trust, such as a teacher or critic with whom you are friendly.
- Arrange your best works in an order that is pleasing and fluid. Try different arrangements to find the best one.
Tip: Select only your very best work. Even though you might have experimented in a different media and may be eager to show your versatility, you need to only include works that are objectively high quality. For example, just because a work is the best watercolor you have painted does not mean it is an objectively high quality watercolor. This is where your objective observer can be very helpful.