Why I’m Building MyArtPDF — A Simple, Offline Portfolio Tool for Artists
A tool I needed for myself — and soon available for every artist.
Prologue
How many hours have you lost formatting your portfolio?
As an artist, I’ve struggled with this for years. Every time I had to apply to a residency, open call, or gallery, I found myself overwhelmed by tools that weren’t made for artists at all.
So I’m building something new — something quiet, simple, and offline.
Today I want to share why.
Why creating a portfolio was always painful for me
I work with images, materials, and physical space — but layout software?
It never felt natural.
Canva feels crowded and slow
InDesign is powerful, but heavy
Google Docs breaks alignment every time
Everything requires an account
Nothing works offline
And every tiny change destroys the layout
I always wanted something quiet, focused, and artist-friendly.
Something that doesn’t ask you to “design,” but simply helps you present your work.
The moment the idea clicked
One day I thought:
What if the tool didn’t try to be creative software at all?
What if:
✔️ The layout was automatic
✔️ The PDF was always clean
✔️ Everything stayed offline
✔️ No account was required
✔️ Your work never left your device
✔️ You only focus on artworks + text
A portfolio could be as simple as:
select artworks → write CV / bio / statement → export PDF
That idea felt right.
So I started building it — first for myself.
Why I decided to share it with other artists
We already pay for:
art supplies
studio rent
transport
framing
submission fees
The last thing artists need is:
❌ another subscription
❌ another cloud platform
❌ another complex UI
MyArtPDF is built around a simple idea:
Every artist deserves clean, professional tools — for free.
That includes:
a clean PDF portfolio
an artist CV
a biography
an artist statement
all fully offline
and fully private
No login.
No tracking.
No cloud.
Just a quiet space to work.
Where MyArtPDF is now (pre-launch)
I’m currently polishing:
✔️ the offline engine
✔️ the export system
✔️ the A4 / US Letter options
✔️ image compression
✔️ a minimalist, distraction-free workflow
It’s close — but not ready yet.
If you want to be notified the moment it launches:
I’m opening the waitlist here:
👉 https://myartpdf.app/#waitlist
The confirmation email may appear in your spam folder.
No spam. Just one email on launch day.
Thank you for reading
This project started as a tool for myself —
but now it’s becoming a tool for artists everywhere.
If you want to follow the journey, you can subscribe here on Substack.
Thank you for your support.
Alexandre Desane
From No Paintbrush
YES PLEASE ✨