Art & Artist Website - ReachingIntoHeaven.com

Website showcasing an artist's paintings and related items (events, art shows, workshops, etc)

ReachingIntoHeaven.com

We need a new design for this website and we want to leave the details fairly open so you can use your creativity to show us what you have.

The website's primary purpose is to showcase and sell the artist's paintings.  A quick rundown of what the site will do:

1. Display and sell artwork.  Art will be of different types using different mediums.  Although most of the pieces will be by the main artist we will also be showcasing work done by others.

2. Provide information about workshops and upcoming art shows, etc

3. Some of the paintings may also be accompanied a short video explaining the story behind the painting.  The story behind where each painting comes from is a big selling point.

A few paintings will be featured on the front page.  We'd like to see this page designed.  The front page should contain:

- an excerpt from the latest blog entry.  We will be setting up a blog for the artist as well.  I'd like to have an excerpt from the latest blog post on the main page (from the rss feed)

- an area for a brief welcome message for first time visitors.  If it is a returning visitor, they would see a brief list of upcoming events (workshops, art shows, etc)

- a few featured paintings.  I was thinking something along the lines of a picture of the painting along with the video description beside it (or the text description if no video is available).

- Artsy, edgy, appeals to youth
but able to be used by older people (easy navigation, etc)
- Clean, crisp design
- Sunflower(s) of some nature
must be incorporated into the design.The sunflower is important to the artist here.  Whether its one big sunflower or a group of smaller ones or something completely different is up to you, but it needs to be there.

- Don't want it to be dark
feeling.  Dark designs are fine (in fact, the artist quite likes them).  What we mean here is none of the flowers-coming-out-of-skulls type of "dark". 
- No country-cutesy feelings sunflower