SEO for artist (low text content)

So this is what I've been thinking about in the last few months. My uncle is a graphic artist (traditional etching/engraving, not digital) and I'll be updating his site soon (currently on flash haha, still looks good but not useful anymore). I want to give him some organic exposure if nothing else. There's no way he'll write articles for a blog or even want stuff like that.

I find it hard to come up with ideas on how to even come up with ideas. It's not going to be a store and if it is - he won't advertise it on the site, only if people contact him. So most keywords are probably informational, but even then - most people looking for "etching" don't search for etching on copper or zinc plates. They are interested either in etching materials or some non-art related service. Guest blogging is an option, but initially, I'm looking for free-methods I can do myself.

Has anyone had any experience ranking image heavy-text lite sites like art or photography? Pinterest and Instagram come to mind, Etsy too (but that is only good for brand/name searches). Any ideas? Or questions if I need to provide more info. Thanks!

Also, I apologize if this isn't the correct section.

Wrong section? Or just tough question

My suggestions would be:

* name every image filename uniquely and relevantly e.g "Some Title - 20x30 Zinc Copper Plate Etching.jpg"

* use an Alt and Title tags on the image that are similar to the filename

* put an H2 with the name of the image, then an H3 with the medium

* Ensure each image has at least a small paragraph about it - at least a hundred words

* Create a bio page and spend a bit of energy there describing his experience and mediums, awards, showings etc.

* Add a "Buy now" link to each one -> even if it's just to an email form

* Create a "how to purchase" page which will give the chance to add in some additional keywords

* If possible create a couple of Table of Content pages that list the etchings that fall into that category e.g Copper or Zinc or if he does different styles, use them as the TOC pages instead

* If you're using Wordpress, install a "similar articles" type plugin that can interlink the different images to each other and get some internal linking structure