Expert: DJ Murphy - 7/11/2009

Question
I am an amateur painter who has received encouragement from a professional to exhibit my work publicly. I want to put together a portfolio for galleries. Another artist that I ran into at a coffee shop told me that there is a very good way to do this, creating a "book" with photos and a CD. He mentioned Macintosh but I am not sure what he meant as he left before we finished the conversation. He advised that it is not a good idea to email a gallery with a link to a website, because they may receive hundreds of such emails. He mentioned Macintosh having some sort of "book," but he never finished his explanation. Can you fill in the missing info he might have intended? Basically, what I am looking for is the optimum way of presenting my semi-realistic oil paintings to galleries. Also, what is your opinion of including, for gallery consideration, a short descriptive statement about each work? Thank you!

Answer
Not sure about the Mac book......but as a gallery owner....prefer CD's from artist.....and-or a brief overview of the artist work with bio-background info.  Best to write a short note with the portfolio of work or CD and then follow up with a phone call within a week or so after the mail would be received by the gallery.

Check this magazine...Art Calendar  (artcalendar.com) as it is a very good source of INFO for artists.

Best of luck,

dj murphy
galleryonemain.com