10 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your Artist’s Biography

As a writer and curator I visit dozens of artist’s websites every day. In my coaching consultations I help artists achieve their art career goals. We often begin with a discussion about how they write about themselves, their careers, and their greatest attributes and achievements.

Unfortunately, I notice many artists don’t know how to write a correct Artist’s Biography in order to present themselves in the best professional manner.

This article provides 10  mistakes to avoid when writing your artist’s biography and points you in the right direction. I wrote it to help you achieve your fullest potential as an artist.

Mistake #1. Sharing too much inappropriate and/or insignificant information

Keep in mind, this is a professional document, not a long autobiography.

It is interesting to share your cultural, ethnic, life and philosophical  influences that have made an impact on your creative direction. However, avoid being excessive in this area. If you’re interested in attracting art buyers, the main emphasis should be on what you have achieved in your art career and your professional credentials.

Avoid an excess of writing about your personal hardships, apologies, confessions and woes. Decide if your goal is to attract sympathy or appreciation. Write from a positive perspective with an attitude of certainty, passion and confidence.

2. Using excessive art jargon or esoteric language

If you want to appeal to a broad art consumer market consider the level of art knowledge of your visitors. Speak to them in a language that is easily understood. Write in a friendly, approachable and  professional manner from a desire to connect with them.  You don’t want to alienate them or make they feel that they are uneducated and inferior to you.

3. Highlighting several “vanity” exhibitions and publications

Now that we’re living in “The Information Age”, art buyers are savvy about the difference between earned and “paid for” art credentials. And, when these items are obvious in your artist’s biography, you’ll lose credibility among art professionals, including legitimate gallery owners, who visit your website.

If you want to see which galleries are classified as “vanity” galleries, read this article.

4. Neglecting important achievements

Take a long look at your resume and select the best achievements to write about in your artist’s biography. This is not the time to be shy or overly modest. Your artist’s biography should bring attention to your hard-earned accomplishments including awards, special commissions, public collections, and praise from art writers.

5. Ignoring typographical, grammatical and other errors

Proofread a dozen times and have a friend who excels in writing or a professional editor also read it before you publish it. If you appear as though you aren’t thorough or don’t pay attention to important details readers might doubt if you ignore other important aspects about your artwork or your professional conduct.

When publishing your biography on your website or in print format, remember to separate the text into several easy to read  paragraphs instead of one big chunk of text. And, use a space to separate each paragraph.

6. Writing a weak first paragraph

Truth be told, most of your visitors will scan your written content, and may only read your first paragraph to decide if they want to remain on your website. So, deliver a strong, descriptive, impressive and memorable first paragraph. Needless to say, also apply this rule throughout your entire artist’s biography.

7. Using an inferior quality artist’s photograph

Choose a photograph to accompany your artist’s biography that expresses the distinctive assets of your artistic personality and/or artistic process. Consider a photograph of you in your studio. (See photo of Barbara Rachko below.)

Be creative. If you paint en plein air, use a photograph of you outdoors at the easel. If you are a sculptor or photographer, show yourself in action.

Whatever image you select, make sure it is high quality and cropped properly without any visual distractions.

8. Writing too much or too little

When visitors visit your “About” page they want to gain insight about you as a creative person and your professional achievements. How many significant credentials you’ve acquired will determine the length. On a website, most often 3-4 paragraphs with 3-4 sentences each will suffice, or around 250 words. If you have a CV or resume (your career accomplishments in an organized listing format), provide a link to that page or present it below your artist’s biography on the same page.

Naturally, if you’re writing an artist’s biography for other purposes, such as to accompany a grant application or gallery submission, it should be longer.

Avoid batching together a string of endless and varied ideas in one paragraph. Consider using several different paragraphs as needed so the reader can take a breath, digest what you have written and avoid being confused and disinterested.

9. Failing to Update Your Artist’s Biography

Few things are more depressing than visiting an artist’s website and seeing that they haven’t updated their artist’s biography in a year or more. If visitors read that your best achievements took place in the distant past, you can expect to lose their interest. I urge you to review your artist’s biography seasonally and update it as your career grows.

10. Not Having An Artist’s Biography on Your Website

Potential art buyers expect to view your art portfolio and an “about the artist” page. Those two pages and a “contact” page may be all you need to attract art buyers and sell your art. By the time you have reached this part of the article and have learned all of the other mistakes to avoid, you have substantial information. This article “How to Write Your Artist’s Biography” will give you step-by-step advice on how to write your artist’s biography.

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