Sample Artist Website

2009-07-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

This is a modifiable template for artists and galleries
It is Google's free Blogger, modified. If you can't modify Blogger this way on your own, I can offer my programming services for a low fee; see the Contact section.
Although artists may wish for a site with more flair, this is the 'white box gallery' approach: minimalist, neutral - let the work speak, not the site. However, it can be extensively modified. The banner image above, text font, all colors, etc. can be personalized. I have featured some quick samples at the bottom of the page.
If you are a commercial business, click here.

Why do this option?
Features:
- get on the web immediately. A web presence means opportunities.
- no monthly hosting fees
- easy to update
- RSS
- no file size limits
- unlimited bandwidth
- personal domain easy to add
- this site can be integrated into a regular CSS/XHTML site in the future

How it works
The navigational menu above actually links to postings. The newest postings would be here.

Required
An image manipulation program like Photoshop. There is a free one called GIMP. Click here for the site.

Examples
Click on the thumbnails below for some early examples of how to play with this format. It is not as strict as it may seem.

News

2009-01-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

Normally, the first page that visitors come to would be your latest posting - hence it would be your news page. If they follow your site with an RSS Feed reader, then they will learn of your latest efforts.

I have put in this specific 'news' posting only because this is a sample site.

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus consectetur nisi ac lorem fringilla euismod. Praesent ac rhoncus ipsum. Maecenas ut velit tempus risus tincidunt aliquam vel vel sem. Integer gravida tortor vitae eros volutpat sit amet suscipit odio interdum. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quis nibh metus. Ut at sem justo, vel facilisis massa. Suspendisse nec dignissim nisi. Curabitur arcu purus, sagittis et interdum et, semper vitae massa. Aenean at metus et dui laoreet bibendum. Aliquam ut felis vitae mauris tempus dapibus. Donec dignissim ultrices mauris. In et lacus mi, vel scelerisque ante. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Maecenas felis justo, sollicitudin sit amet consectetur eu, condimentum eu felis. Aenean molestie porttitor augue, pulvinar consectetur nibh auctor nec.

2009-01-09T12:56:00.000-08:00

In this format, the navigational menu is placed on the far right. It is very useful for journals or businesses not wishing for the standardized navigational strip.

In the case of this site, the blog navbar was left intact, as was also the right side blog navigational features (archives, etc.). These can be eliminated.

Sample Artist Résumé (with Commentary) from College Art Assocation

2009-01-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

For artists, this would be their C.V. For businesses or galleries, one can have different information pages. There are no limits to possible variants.

1. Name (in bold or larger font)

Preferred mailing address:
Phone Number(s):
Work:
Studio:
Home:
Fax:
Email:
Personal Website: (if appropriate)

Comments: If a gallery gives you a show or takes you in as a stable artist, they may eliminate much of the information in this category. They will probably remove your address, phone numbers, etc., and provide your date or place of birth. This is a common practice because the gallery wants the potential buyer to contact them directly regarding any inquiries about your work.
2. Education

MFA 1998 Sculpture University of Kansas
BFA 1995 Studio Art University of Oklahoma
BA 1992 French Southern Methodist University (cum laude)

Comments: List all of the academic degrees you have earned (noting honors). It is not uncommon to have studied art at a university without completing the degree. You may want to list these periods of study after the list of degrees earned.
3. Grants/Awards (Grants/Fellowships, Awards/Honors, etc.)

1998 New York Council for the Arts Fellowship

4. Solo Exhibitions (One-Person Shows, Solo Shows, etc.)

1998 New Work, Kirkland Art Center, Clinton, New York
1999 MFA Thesis Exhibition, University of Kansas

Comments: As your career progresses, it is likely that you will use the heading “Selected Solo Exhibitions.”
For artists in certain time-based media, an exhibition might be referred to as a “Screening.” In that case, the heading might read “Exhibitions/Screenings” or “Exhibitions/Screenings/Performances” instead of “Exhibition Record.” For performance artists, the heading “Performances” may be adequate. Others may require the heading “Exhibitions/Commissions.”
For those doing digital or technological art as well as video or performance art, please note whether or not the work is collaborative. If it is, develop a simple method for identifying individual contributions.
5. Group Exhibitions (Group Shows)

1998 New York Fine Arts Association National Competition, Utica, NY
Sculpture Carved and Forged, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
1997 They Landed in Lawrence, Lawrence Art Association, Lawrence, KS

6. Commissions (if applicable)

7. Collections (Public, Private, Corporate)

Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY
Lawrence Art Center, Lawrence, KS

Comments: In the case of private collectors, be sure to have permission to list their name(s). Some private collectors like to keep a low profile because of security reasons.
8. Bibliography (Selected Bibliography)

Diane Terrel, “New Work in Central New York,” Sculpture 17, no. 1 (January 1998): 63.

Comments: If you are in need of a style guide for listing articles and reviews about you, you might consider using the Art Bulletin Style Guide.
The inclusion of your work in books, magazines, major newspapers, and important catalogues is important for major galleries. Exhibition announcements and reviews in newspapers of smaller communities are less important.
9. Current Employment

Visiting Assistant Professor, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY

Comments: It is not necessary to list your entire employment history. In the case of an individual who has taught at several major art institutions, it may be useful.
10. Current Gallery Representation

Portfolio

2009-01-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

This portfolio page is designed for holding slides. If a user clicks on the slide, it will be blown up to its full size in a new window. Or, they can be linked to new pages with text, additional images etc. The first two images are linked to posts; the rest simply enlarge. Please explore:

This is the most intricate part of a blog to program. Blogger makes all posting easy with a simple dashboard and composition window. In order to achieve the above small thumbnails, I had to manually reduce their height and width to 100px. Other minor programming adjustments are sometimes necessary. I will walk you through this part, should you be interested; once you know how to do it, it is not hard.

Bio

2009-01-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

This page could feature information about a gallery, business or the biography of an artist.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus consectetur nisi ac lorem fringilla euismod. Praesent ac rhoncus ipsum. Maecenas ut velit tempus risus tincidunt aliquam vel vel sem. Integer gravida tortor vitae eros volutpat sit amet suscipit odio interdum. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quis nibh metus. Ut at sem justo, vel facilisis massa. Suspendisse nec dignissim nisi. Curabitur arcu purus, sagittis et interdum et, semper vitae massa. Aenean at metus et dui laoreet bibendum. Aliquam ut felis vitae mauris tempus dapibus. Donec dignissim ultrices mauris. In et lacus mi, vel scelerisque ante. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Maecenas felis justo, sollicitudin sit amet consectetur eu, condimentum eu felis. Aenean molestie porttitor augue, pulvinar consectetur nibh auctor nec.
Duis eget ante ut justo dapibus pretium eget non augue. Nulla purus tellus, tristique et tincidunt a, mattis vel elit. Maecenas ultrices consequat nisi, eu consectetur metus ultricies quis. Aliquam ac egestas neque. Nunc varius pulvinar ante, non faucibus justo sodales eget. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Mauris quis aliquet nunc. Proin neque ipsum, vestibulum congue cursus vel, auctor ac elit. Etiam porttitor sem sed velit imperdiet vitae gravida erat euismod. Nunc rhoncus massa quis nisi venenatis interdum. Curabitur ut nulla ante, quis lacinia odio. Quisque in dictum felis. Nulla id dolor purus, ac pretium sem. Nam id rhoncus orci. Nulla leo sem, lobortis quis consectetur et, fringilla nec libero. Vivamus dolor massa, fermentum a vestibulum non, bibendum vitae leo.

Contact (Pricing)

2009-01-01T18:43:00.000-08:00

Normally one would list their basic contact information here. Below are the summary of my offerings if you are unable to program this template on your own:

The following are the offerings. Please consider them and contact me (A.C. Frabetti) with any questions at altonfrabetti AT gmail.com. Please also note that Blogger is Free! I am simply charging a small amount for consulting/programming assistance for this template; if you are a savvy programmer, you can emulate this template without my assistance!

Minimal:$35
For this option, we will set up the site via email communication. I will give you basic information and upload the template. I will review briefly how to update the site, but will assume that you are familiar with Blogger and photo editing. I can also modify it to your specific needs (i.e. changing proportions, colors, navigational menu and even some layout movement).
Features:
- affordable
- no monthly fees
- RSS feed technology
- no file size limits
- unlimited bandwidth
- easy updating without any outside assistance
- setup via email communications with basic instructions
Required:
- Photo editing software
- Preferred: ready Banner image of 798 pixels width

Regular: $99
As before, but I will fully walk you through all the features of Blogger and how the site functions. We can alter together the navigational menu, colors and other features. I can assist you with the banner image. I will set aside an hour for the first interaction, and also schedule an appointment for the near future to review any difficulties. I also offer to serve as a continued resource for quick questions or other efforts to modify the site at no extra charge.
Features:
- affordable
- no monthly fees
- RSS feed technology
- no file size limits
- unlimited bandwidth
- 1 hour setup time by phone or Skype plus added appointment
- easy updating without any outside assistance
- Full technical assistance
- Full walkthrough of particular features
Required:
- Photo editing software
- Preferred: ready Banner image of 798 pixels width

Advanced: Varied costs
If you wish to have a regular website, I can design it using direct CSS and HTML programming. I would not be using Blogger for such an instance. Rates vary, but in this case you will need web hosting on an independent server; I can offer this for $5 per month also. Please note that the other two options do not have any monthly fees.
Features:
- unique design of site
- $5/month hosting fee
- startup cost, plus possible costs to update
- requires photos, design meeting
- additional costs assessed based on estimate of needs
- fully programmed in CSS and HTML, not mediated by Dreamweaver
Required:
- None

If you are an artist, gallery or small business and like this layout (the navigational menu may be altered, for example), please contact me at the following email address below:
A.C. Frabetti (altonfrabetti AT gmail.com)

Sample special artwork page2

2009-01-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

In this case for a special project, or a sculpture with multiple views, a new post is created linked to a single image in the portfolio. Then, the images are added by centering them large on each line as below, as was done to have the visitor arrive here:

Sample special artwork page1

2009-01-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

Typically, clicking on a thumbnail in the portfolio section will simply enlarge the image. If you have a large complex project requiring text and multiple photos, another option is to create a unique posting for it and create a link from the portfolio thumbnail, as was done to get a visitor here. This is very easy to do!

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style 2

2009-01-01T14:51:00.000-08:00

By changing some background and border colors, the usual sense of divisions somewhat disappears. The uploaded image has a white background, blending it with the background of the main body section.

style 1

2009-01-01T14:49:00.000-08:00

This is a simple example of changing the background colors of the body. It can be done in the layout section.

2009-01-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

By creating backgrounds and hosting the image on an external server, nice backgrounds can be generated such as the wallpaper for this example:

2009-01-01T08:15:00.000-08:00

In this style, the navigational menu is put above the main image, colors are changed and more: