Mark David Hatwood chose Pinhole, one of Meks’ WordPress themes, to create BritishContemporary.art, a website that extends the reach of the British artists he loves, well beyond the realms of his hugely successful Cornish gallery.
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I spent 35 years in the music industry before I became a writer, working first as a session musician and a member of bands like Mud, The New Seekers, and Johnny Hates Jazz. I then went on to write music for groups like Weather Girls and Culture beat before writing my first screenplay (Marcello Marcello) and book (Marcello’s Date) in 2002.
So my interest with music remains today and especially with writing when I have time (my musings on BritishContemporary.art are a testament to that!) however when I took over The Harbour Gallery in Portscatho, I found a new love: visual arts, which now takes up most of my time.
What’s the story behind your website?
I took over The Harbour Gallery in Portscatho in 2012 and, using the skills I had developed over the years creating websites, within 4 years I had increased the gallery’s turnover by over 500% (35% of which were online).
My own gallery’s subject matter was very localized and after meeting so many great artists, I wanted to create a digital website without those restrictions, so the idea of BritishContemporary.art was born.
East Street Brighton – Claire Henley
Why did you decide to use one of Meks’ WordPress themes?
I knew that both in the digital realm, and especially the arts, a visually appealing website was going to be essential. I searched around the web and Pinhole stood out far above the rest. I also knew I needed a gallery front page where an example of all my artist’s work could be seen at a glance.
Again, the theme did exactly that, but it was the way the gallery had differing tile shapes, compliment the artwork’s format, was one of the most appealing reasons I chose it initially.
Which specific feature do you enjoy the most?
As I started to develop the site, it was essential that the ‘cleanliness’ of the site was retained. Pinhole, when used sympathetically, can look beautifully simple yet it was able to hide the deceivingly complex additions I needed to make it a viable sales platform.
For example, I saw the potential of using the info screen at the bottom as an area for PayPal coding and deeper descriptions of each piece of artwork. And, thanks to the wonderful support team at Meks, we created what I think is a stunning website… and has received a multitude of comments to that end.
After Silence – Deborah Walker
Anything else you would like to add based on your experience with Meks as a company?
Without Meks’ superb and quick-to-respond support team, this website would be a shadow of its current self. They were with me all the way, offering help and suggestions and were quick to respond to my many requests of help without asking for ‘premium’ support charges.
Without a doubt, Meks is the best support I have received in my many years of creating WordPress sites with a multitude of different themes. So, if you see something you like created by Meks, my advice is to buy it! In my humble opinion, you won’t get better support and advice to make your website a beauty!