Hi Scott,
Have you considered using Jetpack’s custom post type for your portfolio items? It would enable you to create and manage your portfolio items separately to your blog posts. You can read a little more about the custom post type here:
https://jetpack.com/support/custom-content-types/
If you decide to make use of that feature then portfolio items will automatically appear on a the portfolio archives page (which the theme styles in the same was as the blog page) and your posts will appear on the separate blog page (there will be no need to add a special category to your posts.)
To get your portfolio archive page to display as your site’s front page, you would first need to set up a child theme.
In case you’re unsure, the following guides provide a good introduction to child themes, including steps to set one up:
After you have completed that step, copy the parent’s archive-jetpack-portfolio.php file to your child theme’s directory and then open it in your favourite text/code editor. Choose the option to “Save As” and rename the file to front-page.php. This will be enough to set it as your site’s front page.
Let me know how you get on with that or if you’d like a different solution to the problem.
