Whether you are working on the concept art for a video game or creating a brand image for a range of confections, artists are employed in many different capacities in the corporate and public sectors.
The one thing that these roles have in common is that artists are nearly always working in a diverse team towards a wider goal. Your portfolio will showcase your artistic talents, but your artist cover letter will outline how you (and your colleagues) bring them to life and make sure that they add value.
An artist cover letter can explore the passion of an artist for their work, describe their approach to creativity and explore the nature of their inspiration. When working as part of a wider team, an artist’s direction can be influenced from many angles and an artist cover letter should show that they are open to other ideas and able to translate concepts that are not their own (and sometimes that they even do not agree with).
Artists come across many obstacles in their creative journey, so an artist cover letter can offer examples of how they work through these moments and get to a solution that works for everyone involved. Artists are not seen as natural collaborators, so you have to show how you integrate the ideas of others into your vision.
This artist cover letter guide and cover letter example will consider how to tell the backstory of your portfolio. It’s part of our 125+ expertly-written cover letter samples that are a free resource for job seekers in any field or of any experience level.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this guide and our corresponding artist cover letter example:
- How to format your artist cover letter to best frame your story.
- Considering what to write in the intro, middle part and close of the cover letter.
- How to bring across your artistic talents using words as well as images.
- Tips about how to best influence the hiring manager and mistakes to avoid.
According to Indeed, there are 27,578 job openings for artists in the United States.
Best format for artist cover letter example
You might be tempted to create an artist cover letter that is wildly creative and different from everyone else, but we suggest that you let your artistic portfolio do the talking for your art skills and let the artist cover letter tell the story of your personality and how you will fit in.
The format for the cover letter should follow a tried-and-tested path:
- The cover letter header
- The greeting / salutation
- The cover letter intro
- The middle paragraphs (body of the letter)
- The ending paragraph of your cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)
This cover letter example guide offers some tips that are specific to artists, but as there are many different opportunities for artists across varying industries, some more general cover letter advice might also come in useful. Our comprehensive cover letter example guide offers more food for thought about other angles to consider.
Here is an artist cover letter example that might offer some inspiration:
Dear Ms. Bahnschild,
When you are looking to communicate a complicated idea, nothing beats a pictorial representation of what you want to convey. Having worked for two environmental consultancies as artist-in-residence, I feel that my passion for the future of our planet and twenty years of drawings about it will give me an edge at Lastwell Group.
Whether I am sketching the outline of an advertising campaign or creating digital art for a charity partner, I have experience in finding the right medium for the message. I enclose a portfolio of some of my most impactful work - with 12 industry awards and countless commendations from clients, my sixteen years of artistic experience in the environmental space have set me up to understand what makes an impact.
I understand that you also need an individual with the photography skills to document events and expeditions. I have been a certified photographer for the past six years and have taken pictures from the Arctic to the Amazon. My photos have been published in 40+ magazines and the associated PR has been estimated at an annual worth of $400k in donations to my employers. The right picture can reach deep into our social conscience.
My previous employers would say that I am a tenacious and inquisitive colleague, with an eye for the uncommon angle and a drive to tell a story in a way that no one has seen before. In a world where we are bombarded by messages, it is only the “different” that stands a chance of getting people to look twice.
I am a huge fan of your charity and have contributed many times over the years. I attended your tree planting event in Canada last year and it was my meeting with Sarah Hardish that prompted me to apply for the role. I would value the opportunity of an interview to find out more.
Sincerely,
Beth Kardale
If this artist cover letter example was helpful, you may want to check out some of our other related cover letter examples:
Cover letter header
Most artists like to do things differently from the norm, but the mechanics of a cover letter should remain standard. The artist cover letter header section is no exception.
The person hiring you might not have such an artistic streak, so make sure that the basic contact information is presented in the most practical way possible. You might want to choose some brighter color or interesting fonts or graphics, but the fact remains that you want them to note that all your contact info is there and then quickly move on to the more important aspects of your artistic journey.
Include your full name, an email with a simple name and surname (nothing too creative) and definitely a prominent link to your online portfolio. If you do not have a portfolio of your past work, make one. This is something that any artist cover letter should include and you need to make sure that it is referenced right at the top of the letter in the cover letter header (and maybe even repeated later in the body of the text).
Goal of the cover letter header: Share your basic contact details and a link to your portfolio at the beginning so that once you have them hooked, they know where to go next.
Cover letter greeting
Every artistic relationship has to have a beginning. Most beginnings start with a simple “hello.” The artist cover letter is no different. Make sure that you know to whom the cover letter is addressed and get their name right so that the greeting goes off smoothly.
There is nothing worse than misspelling someone’s name or copy/pasting another name from a similar letter that you sent to another employer. Take a moment to get it right. It matters.
Goal of letter greeting: Start the relationship off in the right way – choose an appropriate greeting for the person or organization that you wish to work with.
Cover letter introduction
The introduction for an artist cover letter has to tell the story of how their art has made a difference for their employers. This will vary depending on your role, but often it can include how your art has influenced decisions, improved sales, increased market share or attracted customers.
Art does not exist in a vacuum. Great art creates a movement, so the introduction of your cover letter should start to explain how you have moved others.
The artist cover letter should contain hints of how you work with the team around you, how you include their views in your creativity, and the skills that you bring to the table. Give an example of a successful project and always point to your portfolio so that a hiring manager gets a chance to look beyond the cover letter and resume.
Goal of the cover letter intro: Use the introduction to begin the story of how your art has made a difference. Quantify your successes and include the role of others in your story.
Dear Ms. Bahnschild,
When you are looking to communicate a complicated idea, nothing beats a pictorial representation of what you want to convey. Having worked for two environmental consultancies as artist-in-residence, I feel that my passion for the future of our planet and twenty years of drawings about it will give me an edge at Lastwell Group.
Cover letter middle part (body)
As an artist, your creations will take center stage in terms of making a hiring decision, but the artist cover letter allows you to tell the story behind them. How do you make your decisions? What is the process that leads you to your successes? What role do those around you play in your creativity? All of these aspects are vital for the middle part (body) of a cover letter sample.
One of the most important messages to convey is how your art will fit in with the mission and goals of your employer. There will not be many roles where the artistic output is the goal in itself, so positioning yourself in the right way is important. Do your research and be crystal clear about how you will play your part.
Again, where possible include links to your creative portfolio within the cover letter, but don’t just list your works. Include them as part of your story and the reader will be that little bit more tempted to have a look. Your cover letter is about your personality fit as well as your professional fit, so don’t be afraid to give some details about how you go about your work and what previous colleagues have felt about working with you.
If you have experience that is specific to the industry that you are applying for it is essential to mention in the middle part of your artist cover letter. Such details are easily lost in your resume if they were a few jobs ago, so there is no harm in writing a sentence or two to highlight your industry knowledge. You want the reader to feel like you are one of them.
Goal of the body of your cover letter: Allow your artist cover letter to sit alongside your portfolio as an accompaniment to your creativity. There is where the impressive detail lives.
Whether I am sketching the outline of an advertising campaign or creating digital art for a charity partner, I have experience in finding the right medium for the message. I enclose a portfolio of some of my most impactful work - with 12 industry awards and countless commendations from clients, my sixteen years of artistic experience in the environmental space have set me up to understand what makes an impact.
I understand that you also need an individual with the photography skills to document events and expeditions. I have been a certified photographer for the past six years and have taken pictures from the Arctic to the Amazon. My photos have been published in 40+ magazines and the associated PR has been estimated at an annual worth of $400k in donations to my employers. The right picture can reach deep into our social conscience.
My previous employers would say that I am a tenacious and inquisitive colleague, with an eye for the uncommon angle and a drive to tell a story in a way that no one has seen before. In a world where we are bombarded by messages, it is only the “different” that stands a chance of getting people to look twice.
How to close an artist cover letter (conclusion and sign-off)
The closing part of an artist’s cover letter should focus on the impact of their creativity and the benefit that it will bring their future employer whether it be in terms of revenue, profit, advertising views, or other types of business growth.
Share a final example of how your work has propelled their cause to the next level – give them one last reason to send that email to invite you to an interview.
If your resume, portfolio, and cover letter are pitched at the right level, you should have an excellent chance of securing an interview. If this is the case, there is no reason why you shouldn’t feel confident in saying that you are looking forward to the chance to meet. You love the sound of the job and there is no better way of demonstrating your passion than saying how keen you are to find out more about it. Just don’t be arrogant about it.
Goal of the closing: Give them one last example of your creative genius and then let the depths of your talent do their work. Show that you are keen to take the next step.
I am a huge fan of your charity and have contributed many times over the years. I attended your tree planting event in Canada last year and it was my meeting with Sarah Hardish that prompted me to apply for the role. I would value the opportunity of an interview to find out more.
Sincerely,
Beth Kardale
Writing psychology: mistakes to avoid in your artist cover letter
Any artist takes pride in their attention to detail and in the creative pursuit of writing their artist cover letter; all those little details can matter. You can be sure that your future boss will be reading a lot of cover letters and resumes, so their eyes will be trained to pick up on every little imperfection. Don’t give them such an easily-avoidable reason to think worse of your application. You want them to be noticing your creative brilliance rather than a hastily made mistake. Luckily, the following basic mistakes are not difficult to erase:
- Grammatical and spelling: Most artists and creative individuals will have to do a fair bit of writing in their daily work. When persuasion and influencing are a key part of your working day, words can matter a great deal. Using online services such as Grammarly to pick up on the major mistakes is an easy way of ensuring that no future employer is going to be distracted by unintentional errors.
- Don’t be too descriptive: An artist’s cover letter should be more about the process than the creative output. Let your portfolio speak for itself and don’t put your opinions into the head of your future boss. They will know what they think, so don’t waste precious job search writing space on describing your own work.
- Irrelevance: Before you apply for a role, you need to be certain that your brand of creativity is a fit for a particular brand in the industry or niche. If you are finding it hard to come up with relevant examples for the job in question, maybe you should shelve the application and look for something that is more suitable for you.
The choice of resume and cover letter example template matters a great deal for artistically-led roles. Choose a colour scheme that suits your personality, select a template with a few icons that resonate and maybe think about how you present the information in a different way. Using our creative cover letter templates might make all the difference.
Key takeaways
- Find a way of blending the visuals of your art portfolio with the story in your artist cover letter.
- Choose the most relevant parts of your artistic journey that match up with the challenges of the job in question.
- Don’t try to make the artist cover letter too creative – stick to the usual structure of introduction, middle part and conclusion.
- Make sure that you pick up on any mistakes and ask a friend to proofread it.
