What is an artist’s portfolio?

An artist’s portfolio is a collection of an artist’s best work and, is intended to showcase their style and methods of work. A portfolio is used by artists to show potential employers how multiskilled and flexible they are, by showing different examples of current work.

A photography portfolio can focus on a single subject or project but, can also show a mixture of workings from throughout their career. Many photographers have the collection consisting of photographs taken with the same type of camera, digital or film. Most photographers use portfolios to show their best work when looking for jobs in the photography industry but, they also use images from their portfolios in their biographies to highlight the type of shows and publications they’ve worked for previously.

In comparison to a photography portfolio, an art portfolio is a collection of many skills ranging from painting, poetry, sculpture and many other various art forms. An arts portfolio gives artists the opportunity to show off their artistic skills, experiences and interests and it helps admissions officers decide if you would ‘fit in’ with their brand at their school.

What should an artist’s portfolio include? During this blog I have come to find a recurring theme in artists portfolios of including; finished work from various projects and examples of working documents that show your creative process. You also need to include examples that show a range of different skills within your area of specialisation and a range of subject matter across your subject of interest.