Art Exhibition Tips: Essential Paperwork Every Artist Should Bring.
One thing I’ve learned from doing exhibitions over the past few years is that the painting is the easy part.
The admin around it… less so.
When I did my first few shows, I genuinely had no idea how much small, practical paperwork I’d need. I arrived with framed paintings and enthusiasm — and very little in place for:
- tracking who bought what
- collecting emails
- writing receipts
- logging sales
- keeping an inventory
- or even making price labels that didn’t look last-minute
I just assumed I’d remember everything. (I didn’t.)
I ended up scribbling names and prices on scraps of paper or half-typing things into my phone while talking to someone. Later, I’d have no idea who wanted a commission or who asked about prints. It wasn’t a disaster, but it made everything feel unnecessarily chaotic.
Over time, I slowly figured out the bits of paper that actually help. And because I prefer things simple, I literally made these forms for myself — just clean sheets I could print quickly and fill in on the spot with a pen. No apps, no spreadsheets, no overthinking.
I never planned to “make a kit.”
I just got tired of writing the same things over and over on random pages.
Here are the ones I now bring to every exhibition (I use them for all sales and logs outside exhibitions too):
- a sign-up sheet (with a little comment space)
- a sales ledger so every sale is logged properly
- handwritten receipts (people love getting something neat)
- a tidy price list
- an inventory sheet
- price labels that make everything look more polished
- a certificate of authenticity
- a simple delivery note for dropping paintings to collectors or galleries
None of this is glamorous. But together, it makes everything smoother — and calmer.
It’s amazing how much less flustered you feel when the admin part is handled.
Eventually I realised other artists were asking me for copies of these sheets, so I put them into a printable pack — exactly the same ones I use myself.
If you want to use them too, they’re here:
(10 pdf pages + a short guide, ready to print + fill in by hand)
It saves so many small headaches — and lets you focus on the part you actually care about: talking to people and showing your work.