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Artist Website Examples - Reviews of 9 Portfolio-Promoting Sites

These 9 examples of artists' websites show great examples of web design that will build your client base.
Simoné Gambrell
By Simoné Gambrell, Sep 6, 2024
Simoné Gambrell is a Copywriter based in South Africa. She has enjoyed using her creativity to research and write articles about logos for small businesses since 2019.
An artist working on a canvas against a wall covered in graffiti.

Designing an artist website can be a great creative process for the artist, as the website should reflect the style of your art. When you think of art displayed in galleries and museums, the walls are always white to properly showcase the artwork. This is a great theme to take over to designing your artist's website.

Be sure to showcase your artwork in easily accessible categories, in a way that engages your audience. It's also a great idea to have your social media handles on prominent display so customers can see new work as it's produced. Try out our artist AI website builder to design a great website in seconds.

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How We Evaluate Websites:

Zarla checks that sites meet basic web standards for mobile and desktop. We also use Google's PageSpeed Insights, and WAVE, a service that evaluates accessibility for individuals with disabilities. PageSpeed scores and accessibility are important factors for search engine rankings. PageSpeed scores may not match user experience and can vary substantially.

Rose Hewartson

desktop screenshot of website Rose Hewartson

chain icon https://www.rosehewartson.com/

pin icon Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Rose Hewartson is an artist based in Brisbane who specializes in country themes with a contemporary, urban twist. The site's off-white background and minimal use of text highlight the colorful charm of this artist's paintings, while customer reviews enhance the credibility of the site.

The site includes an introduction to the artist and her style of work, and offers visitors the option to view works available for purchase, opportunities to learn from the artist, or book an appointment with the artist. The use of different media styles, including images, videos, and GIFs, enhances user engagement.

Pros and Cons

plus sign

The site is visually engaging and offers a lot of features that visitors to the site would be looking for, including an artist's bio, commission appointments, and a gallery of work with pricing information.

minus sign

The site is only semi-compliant with assistive technologies, and one of the pages does not display the menu. WAVE reports some empty link, empty heading, and contrast errors. The site lacks a resume of past and future exhibitions and events.

Desktop Review

desktop screenshot of website
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The desktop site makes great use of the responsive design and visual impact to draw in potential customers. Some text blocks offer poor contrast to the background color, but the site itself performs well, having a performance score of 93/100 on Google's PageSpeed Insights report. With a menu at the top and bottom of each page and prominent social media links, visitors can easily navigate the desktop site.

Mobile Review

mobile screenshot of website
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The mobile site is well-optimized for the smaller screen, with plenty of white space maintaining legibility and easy navigation. The hamburger menu maintains the easy navigation and highlights the social media and online shopping links. Some larger images slow down loading speed, according to PageSpeed Insights, leading to an overall performance score of 74/100.

Katrina Swanson Fine Art

desktop screenshot of website Katrina Swanson Fine Art

chain icon https://www.katrinamethotswanson.com/

pin icon Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.

Katrina Swanson's fine art niche of vintage candy is immediately highlighted in the banner image, which, while it looks like a stock image, is an example of one of her oil paintings. The gallery includes various categories for viewers to browse through, but there is no option to buy online.

Visitors to the site can view the artist's past events, sign up for an email newsletter, and view other sites where Katrina's artwork is available for sale. While the images shine, the text used is very small.

Pros and Cons

plus sign

The site features a clean design, simple UX, and high-quality photos of the paintings. An archive of past events and a newsletter to keep up-to-date with future events is a great addition to this artist's site.

minus sign

There is no online purchase option and the artist bio is a long block of small text, which hinders legibility. The site is not compliant with assistive technology and all the "Read More" links create an unnecessary amount of clicking and navigation on the site.

Desktop Review

desktop screenshot of website
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The desktop site uses a clean, simple design to really showcase the artwork and continue the "fine art" theme. The off-white background highlights the images, but the contrast with the text is a bit weaker. The text is also very small and may be difficult for some people to read.

While there is no option to purchase the art online, this is a great portfolio of the artist's work, and there are plenty of opportunities provided to follow the artist's journey, including social media links and a newsletter.

Mobile Review

mobile screenshot of website
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The mobile site is well optimized for the smaller screen, with the small text actually fitting this style and not appearing too small. The colors are bright and vibrant against the off-white background, but the artist's bio still seems a bit overwhelming in the density of the text. The mobile site has a performance score of 64/100 on Google's PageSpeed Insights report.

The Art of Marlena Myles

desktop screenshot of website The Art of Marlena Myles

chain icon https://marlenamyl.es/

pin icon St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.

This site advertises Marlena Myles' work in illustration, animation, fabric design, and public murals inspired by the artist's Native American Dakota heritage. Visitors to the site can download coloring pages that share Dakota culture, read articles and interviews about the artist's work, and buy prints. There is also a link to the artist's fashion designs on Society6.

A list of future events and links to news articles make for a nice touch on the site, but the site is very busy, which can distract from navigation, and would benefit from customer reviews.

Pros and Cons

plus sign

The site is easy to navigate and full of information, the images clearly show the artist's work, and there is a list of awards to inspire confidence. The links to news articles also work to build confidence in the artist and client trust.

minus sign

The site is overpopulated with text blocks, so visitors must scroll and search to find the information they need. The site is only semi-compliant with assistive technologies, and WAVE reports a number of missing alternative text and empty heading errors.

Desktop Review

desktop screenshot of website
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The desktop site features a trendy design that highlights the artist's Native American style through background colors, dripping paint, and the logo. There is a lot of information on the site, dotted around in text blocks, which creates a busy look but offers all the information that the viewer could possibly want.

A combination of photos, links, and videos creates visual interest. While the gallery is not very extensive, visitors can click on the images to see more information, different-sized images, and the story behind the image.

Mobile Review

mobile screenshot of website
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While the background of the mobile site brings to life the vibrant Native American inspirations of the artist, the layout of the text blocks is not great, with the introduction to the artist and the name of the site only appearing halfway down the home page.

All the information from the other pages can be seen on the home page, which makes for a long scrolling time and a lot of information on the home page. However, the photos and text size are well-optimized for the mobile screen. On the other hand, this site only has a 35/100 performance rating on Google's PageSpeed Insights report.

Alex Waters

desktop screenshot of website Alex Waters

chain icon https://alexwatersart.com/

pin icon Albany, New York, U.S.

This simple website acts as the online portfolio for this abstract artist, including a bio, examples of his work, and a resume. The design of the site echoes the artist's work, which acts as a good marketing tool and places all emphasis on the work itself.

Visitors to the site are able to read the artist's bio, statement, and resume, but while there is a shopping cart symbol in the menu, the page is not available, and users cannot purchase paintings online. The site would also benefit from customer reviews and a newsletter.

Pros and Cons

plus sign

The site highlights the artwork perfectly and is simple to navigate. WAVE notes less than 5 empty link and contrast issues with this site. The artist's bio, statement, and resume are prominently highlighted on the home page.

minus sign

The site is not compliant with assistive technologies and only offers limited information, lacking details on commissioning work, pricing information, and clear outlines as to which artworks in the gallery are available for sale and which have already been sold.

Desktop Review

desktop screenshot of website
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The desktop site has a simple, yet sometimes non-intuitive design structure, featuring only three pages that highlight the artist's work, bio, resume, and contact information. Some of the images can be enlarged, while some can't, and some images have the option to contact the artist for pricing.

The contact page features a simple message box, while the third page, headed by a shopping cart, features an empty page as there is actually no way to buy the pieces online. The background of the site mimics the artist's abstract style, focusing all attention on the work itself.

Mobile Review

mobile screenshot of website
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The mobile site welcomes viewers with the artist's name front and center and an example of his artwork, perfectly sized to the smaller screen. The text blocks, however, look as if they're cut off because they are oriented to the right and left margins, respectively.

The images of the artist's work look good on the screen, but clicking on the image to enlarge it does not make as much impact as on the desktop. The mobile site leaves out the empty cart page included on the desktop and has a 61/100 performance rating on Google's PageSpeed Insights report.

Emyback Art

desktop screenshot of website Emyback Art

chain icon https://emybackart.com/

pin icon Bloomington, Illinois, U.S.

This site features a classic white background to help the artwork stand out and advertises the fine art style of the artist. A chatty tone creates a personal relationship with the viewer and individual tabs highlighting the artist's achievements build confidence in potential customers.

Visitors to the site will appreciate seeing information about commissions, a newsletter, and a blog, but the site would benefit from customer reviews. Visitors are also taken to a different site for purchases.

Pros and Cons

plus sign

The site is easy to navigate and the gallery is organized into helpful categories. The social media links are prominently displayed just below the menu and the addition of puzzles using the artist's work is a fun, interactive element.

minus sign

The site is not fully compliant with assistive technologies and WAVE notes a number of empty links, empty headings, and contrast errors. Online purchasing is not available on the site itself, instead, visitors are taken to another site.

Desktop Review

desktop screenshot of website
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The desktop site offers short descriptions of each tab on the home page. There are plenty of images on the site, but also long blocks of text in a light gray color that does not offer a strong contrast to the white background.

The artist's social media links are consistently shown at the top of every page, providing viewers with opportunities to contact the artist. The site is also made interactive through the addition of puzzles featuring the artist's works.

Mobile Review

mobile screenshot of website
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Immediately upon opening the mobile site in real-world testing, it's clear that the site is not as successful as the desktop's, as the welcome message is shown in one thin column with words like "welcome" running over two lines on certain devices. This is followed by dense text, with the artworks only appearing at the bottom of the page.

The other pages of the site are more successful, with the images showing clearly and the contrast between the text and background appearing stronger. The mobile site has a 75/100 performance score on Google's PageSpeed Insights report.

I Heart Art

desktop screenshot of website I Heart Art

chain icon https://www.iheartart.ca/

pin icon London, Ontario, Canada

I Heart Art is the website of artist Samantha Vincent and showcases her work in chalk, watercolor, and digital illustration. The site's white and blue color palette highlights professionalism, but the choice of font leads to poor contrast between the text and background. However, the high-quality images stand out.

Visitors to the site will benefit from information on commissioning house portraits and will be able to view a well-organized gallery of the artist's work and the artist's bio. However, the gallery of artwork could use an enlargement option and the ability to purchase the works.

Pros and Cons

plus sign

The minimalistic layout and easy navigation highlight the art, and the various styles of art are ordered in neat categories. Commissions and pricing information are clearly highlighted. WAVE reports only a handful of contrast errors.

minus sign

The site is only semi-compliant with assistive technologies and some images should be optimized to improve load times. The site lacks any trust symbols and the gallery section is not very intuitive and includes broken links.

Desktop Review

desktop screenshot of website
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The desktop site highlights the images, creating a strong visual impact with easy navigation. The gallery of artwork lacks an intuitive UX as clicking on some of the images leads customers to broken links or the websites of the companies that commissioned the artwork, while other images don't have links. The desktop site consistently scores in the 90s on PageSpeed Insights for SEO, best practices, and accessibility, with a performance score of 81/100.

Mobile Review

mobile screenshot of website
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The mobile site is well-optimized, maintaining the simple menu and easy navigation. However, the banner image has not been resized to fit the screen. The gallery on the mobile site is somewhat easier to navigate, but still has some broken links. There is, however, a useful "Top" button for navigation.

While the SEO, best practices, and accessibility scores remain in the 90s on the PageSpeed Insights report, the overall performance of the mobile site scores 65/100 due to larger content and slower loading times.

Adam Collier Noel

desktop screenshot of website Adam Collier Noel

chain icon https://www.adamcolliernoel.com/

pin icon Blue Ridge, Georgia, U.S.

This site advertises the artist's modern abstract art with a clean, minimalist, modern layout. There are ample opportunities to contact the artist, and a clean layout helps customers find the style they're looking for.

The site features media and a newsletter to keep up-to-date with the artist's work, as well as a well-organized gallery with descriptions of each piece and pricing, and visitors to the site can purchase artwork online. Visitors can also see what the various pieces look like on different surfaces and in different settings.

Pros and Cons

plus sign

WAVE notes less than five missing alternative text and contrast errors on the site. The site is well laid out, with the artist's bio, statement, and resume available on one clean page.

minus sign

The site is not completely compliant with assistive technologies and lacks nice-to-have information, such as customer reviews and information on commissions.

Desktop Review

desktop screenshot of website
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Pictures of the artist and personal quotes give the site a personal touch and the grid layout is a classic touch for a desktop site. Images in different sizes add a symmetrically pleasing visual that echoes the artist's abstract style.

A tab marked "Installations" shows potential customers what previously bought paintings look like in their new homes, helping potential new customers to visualize their own spaces, building confidence in the brand.

Mobile Review

mobile screenshot of website
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The mobile site is well optimized for the smaller screen but has had to make some adjustments, such as leaving out the heading for each of the groups under the "Collections" tab. The about-the-artist page, which includes a bio, statement, and resume, is dense and long on the smaller screen. The mobile site has a performance score of 45/100 on Google's PageSpeed Insights report.

Avery O Design

desktop screenshot of website Avery O Design

chain icon https://www.averyodesign.com/

pin icon Austin, Texas, U.S.

The Avery O Design website advertises hand-painted wall murals, illustrations, and graphic art. It has a fun, casual aesthetic with bright colors, a handwritten typeface, and a funky picture of the artist.

Visitors to the site will enjoy the blog and social media links, while the various art styles are well organized for easy navigation and the detailed contact form helps with commissioning the artist. The addition of customer testimonials helps to build confidence in the artist.

Pros and Cons

plus sign

WAVE reports less than five missing text and contrast errors on the site. The bright colors and handwritten typeface enhance the artist's style and the fun images of the artist create a personal bond with the visitor.

minus sign

The site is only semi-compliant with assistive technologies and lacks an online purchasing option, a list of past and future events, and guidelines on the commissioning process.

Desktop Review

desktop screenshot of website
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The grid layout within the gallery keeps the design clean and well-structured, helping with the user experience, and the addition of customer reviews helps to build trust. The addition of a blog seems to be a common theme on artist websites, but the personal, chatty tone of this blog creates a connection between the artist and the reader. On Google's PageSpeed Insights report, the desktop site has a performance rating of 73/100.

Mobile Review

mobile screenshot of website
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The mobile site is well optimized to fit the smaller screen, with no text or images appearing to be cut off in any way. The gallery images can be enlarged by clicking on them and the menu is consistently at the top of each page, with only the home page featuring a back-to-top button. The mobile site has a performance score of 37/100 on Google's PageSpeed Insights report.

Nola Muller

desktop screenshot of website Nola Muller

chain icon https://nolamuller.com/

pin icon Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

The Nola Muller website showcases this artist's works in oils, acrylics, and watercolors. The website is clean and very straightforward, featuring no extra pages, so the addition of a menu with "Home" as the only tab is redundant. The site is a simple gallery of the artist's work with a list of past exhibitions, a contact form, and social media links. The color palette is warm and earthy, referencing the nature themes of the art.

Pros and Cons

plus sign

The site is simple with high-quality images and only a handful of contrast errors and missing form labels reported on WAVE. The earthy color palette of the site really highlights the artist's influences.

minus sign

The site is not compliant with assistive technologies, and lacks any interactive features, client testimonials, descriptions about the artwork, or information about buying works or commissioning the artist.

Desktop Review

desktop screenshot of website
magnifying glass

The desktop site makes good use of the larger screen sizes and a clean grid layout to highlight the artworks on display and make a visual impact. However, small text in a lighter color against a pastel background creates poor contrast and legibility. Due to the limited scope, the site loads quickly, leading to a performance score of 83/100 on PageSpeed Insights.

Mobile Review

mobile screenshot of website
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The mobile site is functional, with the responsive design ensuring that images and text blocks scale appropriately to the smaller screen sizes. However, the images of the artwork lose some visual impact due to the smaller sizes.

The mobile site has a more yellow-toned color palette, compared to the desktop site's more pink-toned colors, leading to a better contrast between the text and background. PageSpeed Insights awards the mobile site a performance score of 88/100.

FAQs:

What kind of website should an artist have?

An artist's website typically features clean white backgrounds and a gallery of images that shine against the stark white. The site should also include an artist's statement and bio, and a way to contact the artist to commission work. Depending on the site, some artists may include online purchasing of their work.

What does an artist website look like?

An artist's website typically features white backgrounds with images of the artist's work, inspired by how galleries display artwork.

Do artists still need a website?

Yes, in our increasingly online world, artists need to promote and share their work online in order to build a customer base and start selling their work.

What are some famous artist website examples?

We've compiled a list of artist websites and have discussed the areas that work well, design-wise.

Where can I find the top 10 artist websites?

Take a look at our curated collection of great artist websites and how to learn from them.

Where can I find free artist website examples?

Zarla features a free AI-powered website builder that will design a website and write the content for you in less than a minute. Our dedicated support staff are on stand-by to help you customize and manage your website for a small monthly fee.

What are the best artist website examples?

Take a look at our article on artist website examples, where we've discussed various examples of artist websites and how they reflect the industry and help the artist build a customer base.

Where can I find beautiful artist websites?

Try Zarla's website builder and design a website in seconds using AI. Zarla's websites are free to build and customize and, if you are happy with your website, Zarla will host your site and help with any customizations, additions, or issues for a small monthly fee.

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