Publishing Personalities

Portfolio Fine Art is an exciting new publishing enterprise with big ambitions – and Vernon ‘Vern’ Smith and his team have already signed a very impressive list of artists, including international as well as local talent. Being very much a family business, their strapline is: “Putting personality back into publishing” – which refers both to the artists they represent and the way that they conduct themselves. Vern is a very busy man. 4walls caught up with him between his rock band practice and his next big launch!

Portfolio Fine Art’s history goes back nearly 30 years - with its owners’ roots in framing. Initially, the business would have artwork on display to showcase the framing but the current team then saw a gap in the market for a new publisher and set up Portfolio as a separate concern in Sherborne, Dorset, providing a printing service for local artists and photographers.

That investment has now resulted in new premises with over 7,000 square feet of production space, up-scaled processing and printing capabilities, a nationally recognised sales force and an efficient back-of-house operation. Services now comprise a full offer of photographing/scanning, printing, hand-embellishing, dry-mounting, canvas stretching, framing and distribution.

For Vern: “It is all about the attention to detail, and about building trust and relationships” .

“Ideally, we would like around 15-20 artists signed up, and 40 or so galleries to give us national exposure - while retaining a really personal, tailored approach to our customers and our artists. At the moment, we only cover about 25% of the country with our gallery partners, so we have plenty of scope to grow.”

“Having worked closely with many artists over the years, we are now uniquely positioned to offer the attention to detail that our creative talent deserves and the quality that galleries expect; giving the reassurance of the best quality printing and reproduction with certified processes and materials. Our artists’ portfolio offers a range of styles and media – embracing established and emerging artists alike. We produce industry-leading, high-quality limited edition art using the finest printing processes to replicate the original to almost their true form.”

“Flexibility and a ‘can do’ attitude is also at the heart of everything we do, and our artists welcome the extra freedom and flexibility offered.

Portfolio Fine Art offers support to galleries, utilising all available media to market and promote artwork.
Vern is a big fan of Instagram and Facebook in particular. He also invests in direct mail and digital marketing.

Out of this World  

Portfolio’s artists include some fantastic local talent: Frank Harwood, Katy Rundle, Michael Parker, Brett Burkmar, and artists like Darren Baker, Natalie Dyer, Emma Brownjohn and Daniel Hooper who have national and international followings - bringing a wonderful breadth of styles. There are a number of very exciting new (and one or two well known) artists currently producing works that will be released throughout the coming months.

Jonathan Truss is the best known artist currently on Portfolio’s books. With endless energy, great humour and a lifelong love of wildlife and the great outdoors, Jonathan’s work is both stunningly beautiful and humbling at the same time. “We are delighted to showcase his wildlife paintings, his ‘wacky’ observations and drawings alongside his space themed collection,” said Vern.

Jonathan’s artwork graces the walls of private residences and corporations from New York to New Zealand, and Botswana to Beverly Hills, demonstrating the broad appeal of both his style and his subject matter. Jonathan's affection for the animals he portrays, together with a never ending trail for new ideas, means annual trips camping under canvas in the incredible game parks of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia. On several occasions he has conducted art safaris in Africa, India and South America. Supporting the conservation of many endangered species, he has raised thousands of pounds for wildlife causes.

Frequently in the media spotlight, Jonathan has made over 100 television appearances and has been featured in many national and international magazines. He is a member of the prestigious American organisation ‘The Society of Animal Artists’ and also the US-based ‘Artists for Conservation’, and his paintings have been sold through major auction houses including Christies and Sotheby’s.

He has also won an impressive array of awards for his artwork; recently he was a finalist in both the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year and the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year. He says: “Nothing seems more natural or enjoyable to me than painting wildlife. Nature has already painted its masterpiece… it’s all the inspiration I need!”

Literally, at the other end of the spectrum, Jonathan’s ‘Out of this World’ collection of limited edition 'star-scapes' features luminescent paint that brightens in the dark. Dim the lights and the night sky glows as if you were looking at the stars themselves! “Ever since photographing the Milky Way in the blackest night sky whilst camping in Botswana, I’ve wanted to do these paintings" says Jonathan of the collection. “Earth, our precious beautiful planet, would not be taken so much for granted if we could see it like this - a miraculous beautiful sphere suspended in space, a miracle we call home!”

The anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing back in July gave this collection extra relevance. ‘Beautiful Blue’ is just breath-taking. ‘Wish Upon A Star’ is another favourite.

Jonathan’s ‘Wacky Wildlife’ collection has also been a huge success, with titles such as Photobombed, Mini Me and Peekaboo conjuring up images of ostriches and giraffes in very human-like poses. Watch this space for their latest adventures with a whole new cast of characters.

With all Jonathan’s work, he paints what he sees – hence images that look like photographs! For someone so creative and outrageously talented, he is surprisingly mindful of market trends: “Too many galleries look the same.
I am always looking for new ideas partly to be different and to stand out, but also because the market demands it.
I think it is important to have a commercial filter.”

4walls was delighted that Jonathan reckons: “Frame maketh painting!” Although to be honest, we have to say that outstanding talent maketh painting! Jonathan was very complementary about Portfolio Fine Arts: “They give me great freedom, which is really welcome. Vern is always open to new ideas. He’s accessible. A great guy!”

Follow Vern’s business on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @portfoliofineart
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