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Unit 5 – Building an Art & Design Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of work specifically selected to demonstrate skills and ideas using

work previously done. There are many different types of portfolios and formats in whichthey can be arranged. People sometimes have an internet portfolio on their website where

anyone can view their work; others have paper-based portfolios that can be kept in things

varying from folders to sketchbooks and journals. They can even be on a wall, on display as

 part of an exhibition.

The purpose of an artist, designer or crafts person’s portfolio is to display the best and most

effective aspects of their work and show an employer, client, university or college what skills

they possess and what they are capable of. Each portfolio will be suited to the audience; for 

example, if an illustrator is looking for a client, they will pick work that expresses their 

unique style and shows how they are able to experiment with different media and come up

with different interpretations and ideas. Similarly an art teacher would focus on their student’s work and a photographer would only use photography, no drawings or paintings etc.

A portfolio is particularly used to reveal only a small sample of work ordered neatly and in a

 particular way. Work is chosen that will make the artists’ point effectively and succinctly

without having to show every single piece of work that they have ever done.

I myself have seen a range of different portfolios; Lucy Burscough a painter and sculptor has

an electronic portfolio on her website, similarly I have seen a photographers porfolia via a

slide show. I have seen two illustrators portfolios and they were both in folders to show a

 particular style and development of ideas. When I went the the Manchester MET degree show

a saw lots of portfolios, most of these were on the wall, in sketchbooks or hanging from the

ceiling.

My own portfolio is made up of my favourite pieces that I think work well together and

complement each other; they also cover a range of projects to demonstrate my different skills

and abilities. The pieces that I have chosen to display are;

• Landscapes Canvas Triptych

• Eye Wall Hanging

• Cushion

• Self-portrait Canvas

•  Natural Forms Composition

• Mechanical Forms Composition

• Final Design Idea for Mechanical Sculpture

• Artist Journal

• Mechanical Sculpture

• Landscapes Sketchbook 

• Mechanical Forms & Natural Forms Sketchbook 

• Tactile Eye Sample Box

Firstly, I chose my landscapes canvases because it is a mixed media piece so it shows I can

work with and use different media effectively, and painting landscapes shows a different skillto that of drawing close up, detailed objects like plants and animals.

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To contrast with this I chose my eye wall-hanging because it is much more abstract and uses

the whole colour wheel so it helps to tie all my pieces together and make them flow.

Furthermore I have used some of my natural forms work, this being my cushion and thecomposition. I used the natural forms composition because it is my favourite piece because I

love the tiger and I think it shows off my ability to do observational drawings. Also it

complements my cushion because it shows where my inspiration came from as I have used a

tiger in both. I chose to display my cushion because it contrasts with my painting/drawing

work and shows that I am able to use textile techniques, processes and materials to gain

different effects and textures.

Similarly to my natural forms work, I have chosen to show my mechanical forms

composition, sculpture and final design idea because they reveal how I have developed my

work from observational drawings to designing and finally to making. The sculpture that I

will exhibit confirms that as well as doing 2D work I can also work with materials to create a3D sculpture.

To display on the table in front of my wall exhibition I have chosen my journal because it

highlights my main sources of inspiration and the main artists, craftspeople and designers

(both contemporary and historical) who have influenced my art.

Additionally I have chosen to include my two sketchbooks in my portfolio; both the

landscapes sketchbook and the mechanical and natural forms sketchbook. This is due to the

fact that they contain my primary and secondary sources so they show how I started each

 project, and I also really like some of my own primary source photos and they show that I can

use photography successfully to develop my work and ideas. They also show some

observational drawings and experimental work which imply the development that takes place

from the start to the final piece.

The final item that my portfolio will contain will be my tactile eye sample box. I am using

this because it portrays my ability to experiment with a wide variety of different media,

materials, techniques and processes, and I also like all the different textures and patterns that I

have replicated.

Overall, I think I have made a quality, effective portfolio because it contains a variety of work 

and shows the abundance of skills and ideas that I have developed. Also there is a good mixof work that complements each other but also contrasts with each other due to the techniques

used. In addition I have thought about the colour scheme and decided that blue is quite a

 prominent colour in my portfolio, so I have used a lot of yellow and blue to back my work.

One way I could improve my portfolio would be to enlarge some of my favourite

 photographs and display them on the wall instead of just in my sketchbook because it would

help to make my exhibition even more fluent and emphasise where my inspirations came

from.

However I feel that as a whole my portfolio is professional because it consists of a sample of 

my work and the work where I think I have performed the best, also it is exciting due to the

wide range of work, ideas and themes.