This site runs on the (usually) latest version of WordPress, and incorporates dozens of plugins and widgets.  I created the visual design and code for the site, and maintain it all myself.  The Art pages on the original site (MarilynFenn.com) incorporate a MySQL database, designed by my husband, which I update and maintain.

Evolution of the Marilyn Fenn Studio website (in reverse order)

2012: Splitting of Marilyn Fenn Studio into three separate sites, version 6a, b, & c, WordPress 3.3.1.

Marilyn Fenn, art website, v6a

The Art site: MarilynFenn.com

New slimmer design.  Significantly reduced artwork on site to reflect most recent work that predicts future direction (this part still in progress).

Removed blog, color exercises, links, and all other “more” pages: moved all to http://marilynfenn.com/continued/.

Removed Shop; moved to http://marilynfenn.com/shop/.

Marilyn-Fenn-–-In-the-Studio, v6b

The Blog site: Marilyn Fenn – in the Studio

Moved all the blog posts, color exercises, recommended art books, info about Encaustic, the Artist, This Site, and Websites for Artists from Marilyn Fenn Studio to new directory & URL:
http://marilynfenn.com/continued/

Marilyn Fenn Shop, v6c

The Shop site: Marilyn Fenn Shop

Created new online shop and added all paintings and prints from previous shop pages on Marilyn Fenn Studio.  New paintings and older works to be added weekly.  Search for art by style, year, medium or size:
http://marilynfenn.com/shop/

Marilyn Fenn Studio website, v5

2011: Art Portfolio Site, version 5, WordPress 3.1.
Now that WordPress 3.1 is out, I have decided to subdue the color palette of my site, and greatly simplify the amount of distractions. I have removed many of the doodads from the sidebars, and even removed the sidebar from many of the site pages. In several cases, I combined several pages into one that’s still easy to navigate with the addition of post tabs, and I’ve streamlined the info in the footer widgets. In a continuing effort to offer as much as I can without downloads speeds being too terrible, I have also reduced the number of plugins I’m using.

I replaced the random image of my paintings on the front page with a slideshow. I’ve upsized my art images and thumbnails sizes for better viewing. Plus, I recently added an on-site shop where you can purchase my art. Overall I’m very happy with this cleaner design and my yummy new colors of butterscotch, eggnog and chocolate.

My Artist Portfolio website v4c

2010: Art Portfolio Site, version 4c, WordPress 3.01.
In September 2010, I re-created the style and code files to take advantage of many of the additional options offered by the new architecture of WordPress 3.0.  The site looks very close to the design of 3 days previous, though with a little more simplified visual design, while sporting a more flexible and stable underlying structure.  Plus, I am so happy that I will no longer have to actively ignore messages nagging me to upgrade some plugins that would have broken my previous version of this site (ask me how I know that —  ).

My Artist Portfolio website v4b

2009: Art Portfolio Site, version 4b, WordPress 2.8.
By July of 2009, I had added so many groovy “one-more-shiny-things” that the site had quickly become a little cluttered, so I scaled back and slightly simplified my 4-month-old design.

My Artist Portfolio website v4a

2009: Art Portfolio Site, version 4a, WordPress 2.7.
For the fourth redesign (March 2009), I converted my former site into WordPress, combining my art website with two Blogger art blogs I had been writing for several years.  I designed the visuals and modified some standard and not-so-standard WordPress templates, then integrated the existing databases of my art and art quotes into my new WordPress database.

My Artist Portfolio website v3

2005: Art Portfolio Site, version 3, XHTML/CSS.
My third design was a tableless design using XHTML, CSS, and PHP, to which my fabulous husband contributed the database for organizing my art. I introduced random artists’ quotes on every page, but otherwise I reduced the content to focus more clearly on my art and art career.

My Artist Portfolio website v2

2002: Art Portfolio Site, version 2, HTML (tables).
My second site design, created in 2002 using tables, was more sophisticated and also won many awards for design. It had the cutest little animated buttons, and loads of art-related content: glossary of art terms, loads of art links, an artists’ forum, and of course my art, including prints, cards and an artist book.

My Artist Portfolio website v1

1999: Art Portfolio Site, version 1, Flash.
My first artist portfolio website was created in 1999 and was entirely Flash-based – it was very cute, and won several awards – black with red text – very 1990′s! This was when I first transformed some of my Albers’ color exercises from Color-Aid paper to Flash-based interactive web pages. I also included a popular Picasso morph animation I had made, some animated artists’ quotes, and–oh, yeah–a lot of my early art school artwork.

My Web Design Background

I have been designing for the web since about 1994, and over the years I have created many dozens of websites, using the standard technology at the time.   My designs include a number of large websites for organizations, including three for artists organizations, and several websites for individual artists, musicians, and small businesses.  Check out some of my other website designs and read about my technical background at my design site and blog or view some of my joint efforts with my husband Terry.

Design for You?

I love to create sites that are both beautiful and functional; that validate with the W3C for HTML and CSS, that load quickly, and are easy to update and maintain.  Since I reserve about half of my time for painting, I am usually only available to create about one or two new websites per month.   Should you be interested in having me create a new or revised site design for you (whether fine art or other), please contact me.

You may also enjoy reading:

• New Painting: It's Awash October 31, 2011
• New Painting: Clobbered by Picasso November 17, 2011
• New Painting: Paradigms Lost November 2, 2011
• New Painting: Hortical Mambo January 6, 2012
• New Website and Blog for Texas Wax Encaustic Artists May 5, 2009