Photo credit: Cathy Williams. 

Multidisciplinary artist Cathy Williams leverages Artwork Archive to manage her creative process and impress clients and tax professionals alike.

Cathy Williams is a multidisciplinary artist who uses various media to complete her works, predominantly employing acrylic paint and some collage to create her unusual characters. The basis of her creative work is intuitive; her characters evolve as they emerge through the layers of paint, leading to a collaborative process in her practice.

Williams says that she often "destroys" pieces with her rotary sander, then rebuilds them with paint, allowing the history of each piece to be visible. Typically, she adds pertinent information early in the process into her Artwork Archive account for each new piece— a practice she finds beneficial to her art practice. 

She also enjoys including process photos in the new piece record, which her clients appreciate as it shows how and where their artwork began.

By leveraging Artwork Archive's features, Williams has found a powerful solution to the challenges of staying organized as her art practice grows and evolves. Here's what she had to say:

The Power of Organization in an Art Practice

I would consider myself a naturally organized person. However, when my practice became more serious, it seemed things were getting out of hand.

Most times, I'd end up being extremely frustrated when I couldn't find a folder, current bio, recent photo, etc. I can't say enough about having one silo of secured and stored information. It is amazing to me (and so many others) how complete this one-stop shop is for my personal art practice.
 

"Forever", Cathy Williams Art. Mixed Media on Canvas, 48 x 48 x 2 in (121.92 x 121.92 x 5.08 cm). See more of Cathy Williams artwork here.
 

Streamlining Art Business Management with Artwork Archive's Reporting

I started using the Report feature immediately to create labels and collect my clients' contact information—what a joy that has been!

Knowing that I can generate inventory lists, art and gallery labels, expense reports, and other details has become an easy way to track and maintain the various aspects of my business. Additionally, incorporating filters to extract and separate specific information has proven to be helpful throughout the years.
 

Artwork Archive has continually helped keep me organized.

Generally, once a week I'll input my expenses into the platform. I have found that if I'm ordering something online, I'll immediately input this information into my expenses in Artwork Archive. Ideally, each new artwork is given its inventory number and general information (though you can easily filter and sort for artworks without a unique number). More pertinent details will ensue as the piece gains a title, etc.

Though it's not daily, I use the sales information with COA (Certificate of Authenticity) availability whenever I make a sale.
 

Waving Woman, Cathy Williams Art. Mixed Media on Canvas 8 x 8 x 1.5 in (20.32 x 20.32 x 3.81 cm). See more of Cathy Williams artwork here.

Regarding my clients: The Contacts feature has been invaluable and the COA provides an extremely professional image.