Thursday, April 03, 2008

Two Old Web Pals

As many of you have heard me say before, we are celebrating our 10th year in biz here at Art Paw. These past two years have been fun as my Blog has allowed me to talk with and network with a wide variety of other artists. In the early days I had far fewer web buddies, and yet a couple of power girls do stand out and are still around working and playing on-line.
Today I want to acknowledge two talented ladies and share a bit of my history with them.

First is Sheila Finkelstein. I met Sheila by phone in 2000 when she contacted me to help her create her first website. Sheila is a talented artist, teacher and photographer. Since our first meeting she has gone on to learn Dreamweaver and she now designs her own websites. She is always learning and sharing new web resources with me. I have learned so much from this gal. Sheila is a few years older than me and yet when I speak with her on the phone I always feel like I am talking to a twenty year old kid that is just out there experimenting with art and technology.
Check out her free photo E-zine called Picture To Ponder.
Her photography and art is available over at cafe press so that is another link I will post... go visit her Shop. Yep, she is all over the place. Sheila is a busy marketer and talented artist. Check her out and be inspired.
Peacock image © Sheila Finkelstein

The next artist I want to acknowledge is Linda O' Neill. I was reading her blog the other day and she brought up an earlier business she had called Digital Images. I chuckled to myself as I remembered my first impression of her and her work. My initial reaction was dang, "she is way too good and I had better watch out for her". If you are an artist reading this ask yourself how many times you have seen a talented artist working in your general area and instead of being excited or inspired your initial gut reaction is darn, why do I have to have such tough competition? Well that was my gut reaction. Since that first impression (born out of my own insecurities) Linda and I have gone on to create artwork for each other and we have developed a great e-mail friendship. Linda is a talented pet portrait artist and an amazing painter that works with a variety of subject matter. Her commissioned work is just flawless and her personal projects always inspire me to do artwork for myself. She is a very generous artist that is always eager to support others on her blog. Oh and check her out over at Etsy.
Brisbane Kitty Image © Linda O'Neill

My thanks to both of these seasoned artists for their ongoing inspiration and their generous support.

4 comments:

Moira said...

Great post! Linda was a huge support to me when I started my blog. There were many days when the only people reading it were Linda and my mom. Her comments compelled me to keep going. She is as kind as she is talented.

You too, Rebecca!

Archie and Melissa said...

Hi Rebecca!
I agree, this is a wonderful post. You are a very generous and supportive friend yourself!
Linda is so special and inspiring in my world too, and it is a pleasure to meet Sheila.
:) Melissa

Linda O'Neill said...

You're the best, Rebecca...and thank you so much for such kind words. I am so honored to be surrounded by this incredible group of Woman Artists!

Linda O'Neill said...

And might I add...that portrait of Zero ROCKS! I love that!