Artist Portfolio PDF Example & Layout Breakdown
See a complete artist portfolio PDF example, page by page. Download a fictional MyArtPDF export and compare it with the reusable template structure.
This is a fictional artist portfolio created with MyArtPDF to demonstrate a realistic portfolio structure and PDF export.
Mara Vellin — Selected Paintings 2023–2026
A downloadable painting-portfolio example with a clear sequence of works, consistent captions, and the supporting pages galleries usually expect.
Download the painter portfolio sample PDF Download MyArtPDF for Mac
This page walks through a completed PDF. Discipline-specific notes live on the painter template and the other sample pages.
What's inside this portfolio
This sample uses the sections below. You can include a cover, table of contents, artist statement, project statement, biography, CV, artworks, and a contact page. None of these is universally required except where a call specifies it.
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Cover
A quiet opening page with the artist name, project title, and year. No logo wall, no decorative layout.
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Table of contents
Generated automatically by MyArtPDF with page numbers calculated from the final document. Especially useful when the PDF includes statements, a CV, and several artwork pages.
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Artist statement
Describes the artist's overall practice. Optional in some submissions; this sample includes one.
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Biography
A short professional background. Optional depending on the call; this sample includes one.
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Artist CV
Structured artist CV content using the categories MyArtPDF supports. Optional if the call asks for a separate CV file.
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Artwork pages
The selected work in project order, with consistent captions.
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Contact page
Generated closing page using the artist's project contact details.
What a complete artist portfolio PDF actually looks like
Most artists only see fragments of other people’s portfolios: a page on Instagram, a PDF snippet, a screenshot in a school brochure.
A finished submission PDF is a whole document. This example walks through one complete fictional export: cover, table of contents, artist statement, biography, CV, artwork pages, and contact. It does not include a project statement, because the sample is a selected-works painting portfolio rather than one named series.
Page-by-page walkthrough
- Cover: Name, project title (Selected Paintings 2023–2026), year. No logo wall.
- Table of contents: Generated by MyArtPDF with page numbers from the final document. Every public sample includes one.
- Artist statement: Overall practice, not a caption for each painting.
- Biography: Short third-person background. Optional if a call forbids it.
- Artist CV: Structured categories, easy to scan. This example is fictional; do not copy invented exhibitions.
- Artwork pages: Works in project order, one clear image, stable captions.
- Contact: Closing page from the project contact details, with a restrained note that the sample is fictional.
If your PDF is a photographic series, an illustration project, or an MFA application, the same walkthrough applies with a project or research statement added. Those variants live on the discipline pages.
What MyArtPDF does not invent
You choose which sections to include. MyArtPDF does not require a project statement, a biography, or a CV on every export. It does not design a new layout for each discipline.
Typical export order when those sections are on: cover, table of contents, project statement, artist statement, biography, CV, artworks, contact. Turn off anything the call does not want, then open the PDF and read it as a reviewer would.
Submission checklist
- Check the submission's requested file format.
- Check the maximum file size.
- Check the requested number of works.
- Use consistent artwork titles, dates, media, and dimensions.
- Use a clear filename.
- Confirm contact details.
- Open the final PDF and inspect every page before submitting.
- Show a coherent group of paintings rather than unrelated one-offs.
- Prefer a clear full-work image; add a detail view only when it actually helps.
- Always follow the submission requirements of the gallery, residency, school, grant, or open call you are applying to.
Build your own artist portfolio PDF
MyArtPDF turns your artwork, statements, biography, CV, and project details into a clean submission-ready PDF on Mac. Sections you do not need can stay off.