Way way back twenty years ago I built my own first website using the Dreamweaver program accompanied by a book, ‘Dreamweaver for Dummies” by Janine Warner, 1995. janhart.com. I started alone, completely crashed it all three times and then was accompanied by one of my sons, Jonathan who was also an artist – in pastels. To say it was tough going is an understatement, but eventually I wound up with my own domain (janhart.com) and my first website. And from that website, I began my HartNews newsletter that continues today with over 2100 subscribers. How could I have known then that my little website would began my outreach and enable me to support myself through books, art and workshops? There was even a time after my near fatal spinal staph infection and hospitalization when I photographed all the paintings I had in my studio and put them on my website in a personal one day auction to try to cover some of my medical debt. Through emails and promises to send checks I brought in $15,000. It proved to me early on how important the web can be for outreach and communication. And income.
After moving to Costa Rica I realized that I needed a new website that was more up to date with current technology. One web designer in the area told me that many of my links did not work. I replied that I my website probably matched me well since many of my links no longer worked either. He didn’t look amused. We talked and he built me a new site using a platform that I wasn’t really able to understand intuitively though the website looked great. After he disappeared, a next web master rebuilt the site in a more user friendly platform, but I still found it difficult to understand much of the terminology so I could feel confident. It was an improvement, but difficult for me to translate color and rhythm into his technical language. And how could I possibly expect him to understand what I meant by value change, color temperature variation and complementary colors?
I am now in the process of having a new website built from scratch and my website designer and webmaster is son, Jonathan – who never quite gave up after we both started the process in the 90’s. I am elated because now I am seeing how much I enjoy this collaborative process. Jonathan, who is also an artist and graphic designer explained so I could understand how the internet works with hosts and add-ons and dashboards. More importantly, how a website can be designed to personally represent who I am while it organizes information, photos, paintings, blogs, articles, workshops, events and items for sale for easy access and retrieval. Finally I see the big picture and the picture is looking like it represents me! And I love being able to talk about colors and shading and nuances as if I am refining and finishing a piece of fine art. My website. Thank you, Jonathan.
Here is Jonathan’s contact information and website as well as two of mine that he has completely designed…
Jonathan Owens
Email: jonathan@jdodesign.com
Jonathan’s Fine Art Website
http://jonathandowens.com/
Jonathan’s Graphic Design Website
http://jdodesign.com/index.php/web/
Jan Hart’s Website
https://janhart.com/
Jan Hart’s Website
http://notesinthenight.com/
