The first of many presentations was delivered to the Contemporary Quilt Art Association on February 11, at Seattle Pacific University in preparation for their upcoming show at the SeaTac airport. What an amazing group of artists!

Artwork by Bret Corrington

That was, as I said, at one time. As the internet becomes more user friendly there are a lot of affordable ways to get an artist portfolio website up and running without having to hire a web developer, now that artist template websites are popping up online.

There are plenty of artist template websites out there available to artists that will make having a website affordable on any budget and fairly simple to maintain yourself. A google search for artist website templates will list several sites. Most of these sites will include a package at a monthly rate that includes a domain name, hosting, support, SEO and more. Sites like otherpeoplespixels.com will offer all of this at a monthly rate of $16 to $26, depending on what type of package you would like. There is nothing worse than not being in control of your own content and relying on someone else to make updates on your site. With sites like this, you have control.

A different type of template platform that is a bit more complicated but allows for a virtually endless amount of customizable options for your website is a WordPress blog based website. This is the type of website that I am using for the blog that you are reading right now. I chose to use this website platform for my own artist website as well as my business website and blog. You can see it at BretCorrington.com. With WordPress websites, you will first choose a template, or “theme”, that will work for your website and purchase it. I think I spent around $30 and found it at themeforest.com. There are literally thousands of WordPress themes to choose from. Once the theme is installed and hosted, you are ready to start uploading your content.

As I am re-entering the land of the living artist, it is time to start looking for calls-for-art to submit my work for, fellowships, juried exhibitions, grants and other opportunities that exist all around us and with the internet at our fingertips, are widely accessible. Of course with the very inclusive nature which grants accessibility also breeds competitive numbers of artists applying for the same opportunities, so put your best foot forward, lean into it and take a swing. The last time I did this, I was accepted for an exhibition entitled Beyond Sight, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. My work did not win any awards, but the fact that it was included looks pretty nice on the resume and gave me an excuse to make a trip to the East Coast a tax write-off.

What is this CaFE online calls-for-art I keep hearing about? Well, its just that. There are lots of places on the internet to find calls for art both locally and beyond, CaFE is one that lots of my clients have been using and I thought I would walk my readers through an easy step-by-step lesson on creating an account, formatting your images and getting your work out there. It is free to create an account with CaFE, but each entry will usually have a small entry fee.

Here is how to set up your account.

1)Go to http://callforentry.org and on the top right of the screen
click on the green button that says “first time users register here”. That takes you to a page with some info about CaFE; read it. At the bottom of the screen click on “click here” to register. Read through registration agreement and click on “I agree” If you wish to do so and continue with the registration.

2)Once you click on “I agree”, it will take you to an information name/address page. Create a usename and password, fill out info and at the bottom of the screen click the button that says “register now”.

3)At this point it is time to start adding image files to your CaFE portfolio. Once images are uploaded and the information is submitted you will be able to start looking for entries and making submissions. so you will need to first follow the CaFE guidelines for image formatting. There website images are all shown as a square format. So if your submission is not square, you will need to create a square photoshop document. Fill the back ground with black and drop your image into the document. If your image is not square it will end up having black on both the top and bottom for horizontal images or black on both sides for vertical images.Here are the Correct
format requirements for CaFE. On the

Image Size

•    dpi 72
•    Pixel Dimensions 1920 x 1920
•    Maximum file size 1.8m

Once you have the images sized and saved as a 72 dpi jpegs on the “My Portfolio” page on the CaFE site click on upload media, when you do select “Image” under “What are you uploading?” then “Choose file” and fill in the info boxes and then click on “Apply to Calls”. Scroll threw the calls and find some you like and follow the simple steps to apply. Easy as that. If you need image files created or need assistance setting up your account, please contact Bret at Artist Eye Studio. This is a service I provide for my clients all the time. Happy hunting.

One key element I discovered time and time again was the importance of an artist staying involved in the art community. This could be accomplished in many ways. For example: joining an artist co-op or guild, or perhaps starting or joining an existing critique group with other artists working in your medium. One of the best approaches I found to surviving as an artist is the prospect of sharing a studio space with other artists. Here, an artist would be surrounded by other artists feeding on the same creative diet, all the while cutting the cost of studio space which can be exceedingly expensive, especially in a city with a thriving art scene.

Rather than sharing a space, I decided to join a co-op gallery as well as pursuing an artist-in-residence for a non-profit arts organization where I volunteered my time as a studio assistant and grant writer. The post-college move that would ultimately secure my involvement in the art community, thereby surrounding myself with artists in order continue making art myself, was to start a business dedicated to helping other artists like myself continue to make their art. My business, Artist Eye Portfolio Studio, began simply as shooting slides for other artists for their portfolios and college applications; a skill I had developed over many years of shooting my own work. This was happening, however, at the same time that the photographic industry was making its quantum leap from film to a digital format; unfortunate timing for an artist / photographer who had just started a business that was dependent on film.

I made the switch from film to digital with the rest of the world and soon realized that the digital media was opening up more creative doors for my business than just the photographic side of portfolio development. My opportunities grew along side my skills as a digital photographer and designer by default and my services expanded as a result. With it, the first-hand knowledge that running one’s own business was no small task to say the least, came in the same package. Here is where the irony makes its debut; I was focused so intently on the development of my clients’ careers as artists that I forgot why I started the business to begin with. I am an artist.