making photo pages A couple of people have asked me how I make the photo pages posted on 1/19 that I use for gallery submissions, so here are directions and tips. I need to credit painter Glenn Ossiander for the basic idea for these, which he shared with me a few years ago.

To make photo pages: (I use a PC--there may be differences for a Mac.)

In Microsoft Word (or other word processing program) create a header and footer for your name at the top, contact info below. Use one font, but experiment with sizes, colors and other settings to find something pleasing. Use this same format for every page you send out as a group. (I do think it's OK to have both "landscape" and "portrait" formats in a group of photos, so I use whichever is appropriate to the painting.)

Then create a text box (under "insert" on the tool bar) and into it insert a photo of your work from your picture files. (I'm not going to go into that, but it's pretty self-explanatory once you do it.) You'll have to experiment with the size for the photo--most of mine seem are about 800 pixels high/600 wide. The text box can be moved around to find the best placement. Then add another smaller textbox for the info on that particular image, title, size etc. Again, experiment and find a good type size and settings, but use the same font throughout your page. Make sure things are centered as you want them.

When you're ready to print, go to "properties" for printing options (from the initial printing box that appears when you push print.) Here's a great tip I learned--select "transparency" or "film" for your paper type, even though you're actually printing onto paper (preferably the very highest, professional quality.) Also select the "best" or "high" setting for print quality. You can also choose "preview before printing" to make sure everything looks good.

If you are printing several pages of photos (I have a set of 10 I'm sending out) save all of them into one file in your documents so it's easy to just click through the whole batch instead of searching for them here and there in various picture files (as I have always done in the past.)

I've been sending out ten photo pages in a packet to each contact, using a nice, laminated 2-pocket folder (look for the kind with little tabs at the inside corners to hold everything in place.) I include a cover letter, resume, SASE and artist statement too, of course. You could add anything else you have such as a brochure, or whatever is requested by the gallery. Have your packet weighed at the post office the first time, and purchase plenty of appropriate stamps so you can do postage at home. Mine cost $2.55 for each envelope (outside and return.) Another thing to watch for, if you change paper brands for some reason mid-way, the weight may change and your postage will be off. (I learned this the hard way.)

And finally, some more advice learned the hard way: If you are going to mail out a bunch of these, don't start with the galleries that you're dying to get into. It's counter-intuitive I know--but start at the other end of your priority list. You're bound to discover things that you want to change as you go along, or discover something crucial you left out (my inital set of photos lacked my email address!) and you won't have to cringe thinking of who got your first attempts.  ¶ 11:53 AM