Jan 06 2009
Etsy Featured Artist - debralinker and ditto
Although there are two different names, debralinker and ditto is just one person, but one fantastic Etsyian! I started to get to know Debra on a few threads that we both frequent in the forums. While looking for Etsyian made Christmas cards, I took a look in her shop and absolutely fell in love with these:
I bought a few orders of them, and the response was fantastic! My family members positively “ooo’ed and ahh’ed” over them. They made me smile to send them, and I know where I will be getting my cards next year!
Debra’s art is amazing. She uses so many different subjects and her use of color is so deep and beautiful. Here are a few examples:
Those are just a few examples. Her shops are filled with fabulous work. I could literally fill my house with her paintings.
She has two shops.
Debralinker : her original paintings and cards
Ditto : reproduction prints, greeting cards, and collaborative works from her original paintings
Debra was nice enough to answer some questions for me recently.
How did you get started painting?
For question 1, it might be easier for you to see “Everyday Angels” on my blog http://debralinker.blogspot.com
Do you have a favorite subject to paint?
This is such a difficult question to answer! My favorite subject is actually whatever I happen to be painting at the time. For instance, I painted a pair of ballet point shoes yesterday and thought I might do more(it was SO FUN!) but today I started a painting of an Egret on a Pier and am thinking, “An entire SERIES of silhouetted birds!!”. See what I mean?
Who have been your inspirations?
I get inspired by the visual more than by specific people or artists. I have a LOT of favorite artists … from John Singer Sargent to Etsy’s own Amber Alexander. But what really inspires me are things I see; whether it be photographs or in “real” life. When I paint from those inspirations, my paintings do not necessarily look like the thing I’ve seen; but whatever IMPRESSED me about the thing I saw is what gets captured in the painting. For instance, I have a painting called “Snow Baby” - sleeping mother and cub polar bears. What caught my attention was the tenderness between the two - and that is what I captured in the painting.
Spring or fall?
YES! (Both!) Spring for the visceral sense of new beginnings and the MUCH better day light by which to paint. Fall for the vibrancy of color found in nature that time of year - which I tend to impose on the organic things I paint, like apples and pears.
How did you find Etsy? How long have you been selling on Etsy?
I found Etsy through an acquaintance who suggested it as a venue for selling my paintings. I signed up in Sept 07; but did not open my shop until March 08. In Nov. 08, I opened ditto.etsy.com as a shop to sell reproduction prints and cards, and products that are collaborations between myself and other Etsyians.
What are you working on now?
Today I started a painting inspired by a photograph by SharonKayDesigns.etsy.com. It is an Egret on a Pier. I should have it finished in about an hour. I am also putting the finishing touches on the pair of ballet point shoes I referenced earlier. What is next? I never know. Whatever the next thing that catches my eye and makes my heart skip a beat.
What is your favorite all time piece? If you have a link to the picture for it, please include it.
My all time favorite piece is “Snow Baby” in color (I painted a similar in blacks and whites). This link is to a greeting card of “Snow Baby” as I do not have the original listed on Etsy (it’s price would be $3,500).
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_6&listing_id=15425898
Apples or oranges? Apples!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_1&listing_id=14873248
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_2&listing_id=10227771
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_6&listing_id=10213169
Do you have any advice for painters that would like to start selling their work online?
A few things I wish I had known earlier:
Know what your shipping processes and costs up front. Shipping artwork can be tricky. Know your packaging sources and cost. Know your postage cost. Shipping smaller is easier and less expensive. Make yourself a spreadsheet or list of how much it cost to ship per size of canvas and have that list handy when you make your listings.
Know that you will have to promote outside of Etsy to drive your own traffic to Etsy. Just listing your works and waiting for sales will most likely discourage you.
Read (and do the suggestions in) the Artist Way by Julia Cameron.
Create what you love. The rest will come.
Do you twitter, flickr, facebook…or anything else where people can follow you? Please feel free to list all of you “social networking” addresses.
I am on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Art Fire, Blogspot, Stumble Upon, and I’m sure there are others I’m not thinking about right now. In ALL of them, I am “Debra Linker”.
debralinker.etsy.com
debralinker.artfire.com
debralinker.blogspot.com
twitter.com/debralinker
facebook.com/people/debra-linker
flickr.com/people/debralinker
flickr.com/photos/debralinker
debralinker.stumbleupon.com
Do yourself a favor and take some time to swing by both of her shops, you will not be disappointed!