[Closed] It's been a long time coming, but I've now got myself a website. Be kind.

Looks pretty decent. Responsive too! And content is first rate...

I quite like it, your art is very impressive indeed, well worth the credit it gets.

Plus you're a very sexy man. You're like a man in a gilette razor advert.

And I'm straight.

Quite nice, but a bit boring to me, don't get me wrong as I like some of your paintings, but it's not a website for your average internet dweller.

Best of luck though.

Cheers.

FFS. Are you for real??

Can you at least be fat and ugly, just to give give the rest of us a chance?

I liked the site; I'm a fan of simple navigation. Fab content too.

Best of luck.

nice website for the artistic types.

Good site, great art! Needs some MTB cyclist art though...
I'm liking the "brooding artiste in a potting shed" photo. Good work.

Peter, I reckon you might be a bit too educated to be coming touring with me and the elderly gentlemans drinking and cycling club....... 😉

Some very impressive awards, scholarships etc

£7k!

You could almost get a road bike for that!

Nice site.

Cars and Couples suggests you haven't been to many dogging sights

A Russian pianist I knew said one's publicity pictures should always be in diapers. Those pics were taken when I was in my early twenties, I'm not such a pretty boy now.

Very nice

[i]Can you at least be fat and ugly, just to give give the rest of us a chance?[/i]

Indeed. Some people eh? Talented, driven, great ideas, got a mansion, sexy.
He's even got a website now!

I bet there's a few ladies on this forum taking cold showers right now.

Suggestions gladly accepted as well. The idea is to keep it plain, simple, uncluttered and straightforward to navigate. There are lots of fancier ways of navigating the paintings as well but for the moment we've steered clear unless that is a bad idea?

I'm not such a pretty boy now.

Oh, you're taking the **** now. Modest too??

[b]Samuri[/b]

I made a mistake, it was just an initial infatuation with your words, your beautiful, humorous words. However, you can't compete with McHandsomeTalentedSod.

I hope you understand.

The only thing I'd change - and this is a personal thing - is having to scroll down to get to the images... Maybe move the navigation from top centre?

Loving the paintings btw

I totally understand. His charisma, his wood shed, his dungeon. He's got a fricking rolls royce for christ's sake.

Nope, you run to him. Be happy.

Maybe move the navigation from top centre?

I like the site but am a bit confused about what it's purpose is.

If it is just to showcase your work then it does a great job.

If you are using it as a sales medium then maybe it is a bit too demure - sorry cannot think of a better word to describe it. Are you selling the originals, prints or something else,

I like the simple navigation and swift loading 🙂

He's got a fricking rolls royce for christ's sake

It's maybe just a mobile phone thing... Too much scrolling maybe?

Samurai, I'm not a fair weather admirer... You still got it going on as far as I'm concerned, toots.

It's maybe just a mobile phone thing... Too much scrolling maybe?

Samurai, I'm not a fair weather admirer.

At least I get his name right you hussy.

Looks pretty good to me.
Is missing the wood sculpture section though.

I would change a few things but nothing drastic. All intended to be constructive:

The typography could do with a little work, the main heading starts very close to the edge of the window, it also comes very close to some of the section headings it could do with a little more space. Maybe make it 2 lines instead of one.

The section headings change position some are ranged left some centred, needs to be consistent.

I would keep the menu heading ranged left rather than centred, helps define a strong boundary and just looks cleaner.

I would also make the images align with the heading of the section rather than have them centred to the browser window.

Is it possible to define a set width for portrait and another for landscape images. There's a lot of images that are close to being the same width on screen but are fractionally different. it's visually a bit jarring.

Not keen on the colour change for the contact me screen, theres nothing special about the contacts screen and the colour change give it too much importance.

I would be tempted to have a thumbnail gallery for each section which allows a quickly downloaded overview of the section then the ability to click into the full size images. It's possible that people will be viewing the site on less than ideal connections (smartphone in a gallery) so loading an overview quickly could be useful.

On a technical point you don't need to reload the menu every time a new section is loaded. You can build it so that the menu buttons are a constant.

Is missing the wood sculpture section though.

It's on my to do list.

Thanks camo but I've been outgunned. I recognise that.

Helpful stuff muppetwrangler, thanks.

muppetWrangler - great list. Agree with nearly it all especially the image sizing and typography. I'm still a bit unsure about the thumbnail gallery but you may be correct. STW is always the first place to check 🙂

you should sell prints. I'd buy one.
probably a seascape.

Samurai - don't sell yourself short, sweet cheeks... BN wasn't right for you anyways.

Helpful stuff muppetwrangler, thanks.

No problem, take from it what you like dismiss the bits you don't. I'm always in two minds about posting any sort of critique as it can sound unnecessarily harsh when written down.

I'm always in two minds about posting any sort of critique as it can sound unnecessarily harsh when written down.

Nope, detail is great in this case. If you get it right nothing should jar and you should just see the content. Time to tweak (or rather next week)

Good site. But get painting,love your cycling themed paintings but nothings out there for sale at the moment. 🙁

No problem, take from it what you like dismiss the bits you don't. I'm always in two minds about posting any sort of critique as it can sound unnecessarily harsh when written down.

This is a really helpful testbed, we both felt this would be a great place to see other peoples first impressions, those are the ones that count. if it feels clumsy, folks wont use it.

Good site. But get painting,love your cycling themed paintings but nothings out there for sale at the moment.

This too is helpful. I've spent most of my life in front of an easel on my own with only sporadic feedback. I've never painted to order, I've always gone with what I felt I needed to paint. I've been thinking lately about some more cycling paintings from my last couple of tours in the States. The ones on the site were mostly painted in the early 90s, cycling then was the preserve of students and hippies, I imagine there will be a whole different 'market' now.

Reminds me of this personal statement. One day I am going to use a line of this in a job interview that I don't really care for.

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.

Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row. I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single- handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400.

My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me. I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations with the CIA.

I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven.

I breed prize-winning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

BN wasn't right for you anyways

You don't know that. You don't know anything. *flounces away in tears*

The site's good

The art is just fantastic

Saw the Peter Doig show in Edinburgh a few weeks back which was a real eye-opener. Now this. Just awesome.

Totally gobsmacked.

Meh, I don't know art but I know I like marmite.

Website seems spot on to me - works well, simple and the content speaks for itself. Cycling emphasised quite highly in the bio, which is obv fine for stw but might seem a bit incongruous to the rest of the world - depends on what you're trying to do.
What are you trying to do? It seems like you're a serious artist with a weighty track record. Is it normal to have a website on this basis? Just wondering if there's a risk of positioning yourself at the wrong tier. Every first year art student will have a site / blog like this - obv content nowhere near - guess it depends on what you have in mind for the site.

Garry, I don't think that's a problem. I know of other reasonably well regarded artists who have websites that are worse.

Like this one http://clivewilkins.wordpress.com/fine-art/

I could be wrong though, I guess.

It does just what it's supposed to do, show the artwork.
Just been through the site end to end on an Android tablet and it worked perfectly.
Was so taken with the paintings I really didn't see any obvious flaws other than you are a talented bloke and I hate you with every fibre of my being. Hope you sell loads. 😀

What are you trying to do? It seems like you're a serious artist with a weighty track record. Is it normal to have a website on this basis? Just wondering if there's a risk of positioning yourself at the wrong tier. Every first year art student will have a site / blog like this - obv content nowhere near - guess it depends on what you have in mind for the site.

I'd looked at few artist's sites and gagged at their 'artist's statements', so I didn't want to go down that route. If the paintings can't stand up on their own, no amount of art bollocks will shore them up.

I've been a lifelong cyclist, it took me to places I wanted to paint, I painted myself as a figure in the landscape. I then found my landscapes could exist without the figure. That was a revelation.

We tried to find a balance where there was enough biographical info to place the work in context.

Peter, I reckon you might be a bit too educated to be coming touring with me and the elderly gentlemans drinking and cycling club.......

Ton, what part of riding with a bunch of friends in an awesome landscape don't you think I'll get? 😉

O wow. The land(sea)scapes are quite wonderful. Love that the website doesn’t try to shout too loud—it’s quiet and unfussy and ... well kinda like a really well curated exhibition. Nice 8)
But wot no gift shop!! I’d be up for a fridge magnet 🙂

I was going to buy one but they're all smudged.

I think its ace. well done you.

I'd looked at few artist's sites and gagged at their 'artist's statements', so I didn't want to go down that route. If the paintings can't stand up on their own, no amount of art bollocks will shore them up.

ha ha too true.

[quote=mcmoonter ] If the paintings can't stand up on their own, no amount of art bollocks will shore them up.

QFT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-23482587

😀

Mcmoonter,
Lovely art!
A guy futher up had a great idea. REALLY good quality prints. I can't see the wife letting me shell out several £K's on cycling art, but a few hundred ( if necessry) on good prints would work.
I recently picked up one of the Jo Burt LTD rouleur prints and it is wonderful. Lovely texture,as well as good work.
I think your work may well translate to this format nicely, and perhaps there would be a worthwhile market to give it a try?
SNIFF

Wow.

Reminiscent of some Peter Doig.

You're proper talented, aint'cha?

I'd looked at few artist's sites and gagged at their 'artist's statements'

Well, from the audience's POV that's often the most entertaining bit. 😉

Your work, it seems to me, explores the counterpoise/disjoin/tension that exists between nature and the precarious human condition. I'm right, no?

Can you find a less evil pic of you for the front page?

[img] [/img]

I suppose you're promoting your painting, but it would be good to see some examples of your woodwork.

Ever thought of doing more "installation"-type work using your wood skills?

I like the website. It loads quick and looks clean.

A few things I did think:

Your 'Car and Couples' section says just 'Car Couples' when you get onto the actual page. Not sure if this is a mistake or supposed to be, but it is different to all the other pages where the title matches the link on the left (oh, apart from the Florence one).
In a similar vein you use all lower case on the left hand links, but capitalise the first letters of the words when you are actually on the page (except in some occasions, like [b]S[/b]till [b]l[/b]ife).

The 'collections' page. I don't know what it means/is? Is it a list of where your art has been displayed? Where your art is currently displayed? Something else? Perhaps a couple of sentences explaining the point of that page...? e.g. 'This is a list of places my art has been displayed, or is currently being displayed'?

I would group the 'factual' pages together, so 'bio', 'collections', 'education & awards', 'solo & group exhibitions' would all be at the top of the list, with the galleries below and then 'contact me' right at the bottom....

Small, finickety things. Feel free to ignore them! 😀

Well done on the site!

Well I spend a fair bit of time looking at artists websites and have made a few in the past and I'd say it's a pretty good effort.

Bear in mind who's going to be coming to the site and what their priorities are. For the sites I did, the overwhelming majority of visits were from people who'd seen work in a gallery or similar and wanted to find out more about the artist and find more work by them.

Because of this I'd change the focus of the collections link, splitting it out into publicly viewable and private collections and providing links to the galleries where appropriate.

Solo & Group Exhibitions should focus on exhibitions which are ongoing and if there are any future exhibitions they should be highlighted. Arguably the most important line on this page is the last, as this provides visitors with the information they need to access more of your work:

I exhibit regularly with the Scottish Gallery, Aitken Dott, Edinburgh; Thompson's Gallery, London; Panter & Hall, London; Stafford Gallery, London, Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh

I'm guessing that the commercial element of the site isn't a big deal - at least initially - which is perfectly fine but it's still likely to be a important for your visitors. Even if they're not looking to buy from the site, getting an idea of whether the artist's work is within your price range is important. I'd move if up the navigation, I'd also be tempted to include some recently sold works in there as it fleshes it out and provides a notion of your work as it is now.

On the navigation front I'd want to separate the galleries from the informational and functional pages. Maybe bring the information to the top, add a separator and then have the galleries below (or vice versa).

Like it though, it's pitched at about the right level for your audience and the functionality is sufficient without being too elaborate.

Cheers,
Sam

the site is very good, clean, simple and easy to navigate.

Your art is fantastic, I wish I could afford some.

I'm a web designer and didn't really notice the mechanics of the website - I thought it did a great job of leaving the art to do the talking. I took a similar approach when I did an artist's site a couple of years ago.

I'm not a fan of the centred menu text, but that's just a personal thing.

I always seem to be drawn to the sketchier side of people's work. I especially like this one:

[img] [/img]

This is really helpful guys.

I agree with the lower case menu, we should capitalise and rejig it. I will also sort the miss match between the menu titles and the thumbnails.

The Collections list? As an artist I thought that was self evident, but it's clearly ambiguous. It's a list of private and corporate collectors of my work.

We will add links to the galleries currently exhibiting my work. Timing is everything, L&T got the top price for one of my Landscapes in Tuesdays's auction.

We added a link to a dedicated Facebook page, clicking 'Like' will add you to the updating mailing, rather than going to the site.

I'm keen to see how the site will work. I've had a long term group of collectors who have come to the studio to buy work. Their key motivation being access to new work before it reaches the gallery. What many of you may not realise is that a west end gallery commission is never less than 50%.

Its always a balancing act between having stock in the studio and the gallery. The gallery clearly has a far bigger client list, as well as passing trade than I ever will. Their overheads are a damn site more than my shed in the woods.

Prints. I never considered that. Files under stuff to research. Ton suggested T shirts too.

I've had a copyright agreement with a card company who sold cards in the National Gallery and Royal Academy gift shops. Again, I should really be looking at stuff like that myself.

I'm no web designer but get involved in the odd bit of application design.

The only question I would ask is what order is the Collections in? For me it should be alpha so I can easily find stuff I'm looking for.

And for everyone else, he [i]really[/i] isn't [i]that[/i] pretty in the flesh 🙂

^ usless without a (recent) picture 🙂

That would be unfair. If Mcbloodytalented wants to post recent pics of himself posing, so be it. 😉

The only question I would ask is what order is the Collections in? For me it should be alpha so I can easily find stuff I'm looking for.

Boblo, I couldn't think of a rational way to put them in any order so I put the biggest badasses at the top.

A lifetime as a cake coniossieur has been hard on me. I'm thinking of the children and baby robins by posting a retro pic.

Now new and improved with wood. 😀

molgrips - Member

Can you find a less evil pic of you for the front page?

That is my smiley face 😯

Nice site - you know what it really reminds me of - early artists' website back when the World Wide Web was in it's infancy in the 90s.
There were a few early adopters in the artistic world.
Web sites were kept simple and just used to showcase the work.
I like.

mcmoonter - Member
Now new and improved with wood.

just had a quick look but couldn't see it . . .

just had a quick look but couldn't see it . .

Is there not a thumbnail marked Glassmount?

No - i am looking on the home page for it - but can't see it

It appears as the last thumbnail on my iPad, the workings of this are beyond me, I will need to give Leffeboy a shout. Thanks for the heads up.

In a week more than a thousand STWers visited the site. 😯

Thanks for the interest.

We sorted out the link to the woodpiles and other projects at the bottom of the Bio page.

As I said above, there is a Facebook link to a companion page. Click on 'Like' and you'll be notified when the page gets updated with new paintings or other news.

when are you taking tee shirt orders? 8)

Like. Simple website, all works very smoothly like a nicely oiled bureau.

Love the couples on bikes! All inspired now.

Can I have a FB like back please? My [url=

are not in your league and I haven't got round to putting my other work online or building a proper website but maybe I should… it looks really satisfying.

Can I have a FB like back please?

Of course.

I found the whole process of making the site, while ably helped by leffeboy, to be great fun. I found some paintings I'd long forgotten about. It was like remeeting old friends

Cheers!

Old friends? Yes, I guess it would. Help! I've just realised that some of them are in biscuit tins… you shouldn't put your old friends in biscuit tins should you?

MC prepares a welcome for anyone coming round selling 29ers
[img] [/img]

[url= http://www.petermclarenfineart.com/Glassmount/n-rbhZf ]The other Glassmount stuff is here[/url]

Ok, off to look at all the other suggestions