Why I'm Very Happy to Have Diane Guercio as a Friend - Social Media Power!

More than any other post in recent memory that I've written, this one will illustrate the power of relationships formed exclusively through social media.  I have never met Diane in person (yet), but I feel like she is a part of my family now.  You'll see why soon.

Diane Guercio is one of the founders of Twitterqueens, and she (along with Lesley Lambert and Maya Paveza) host a biweekly radio show on our BlogTalkRadio network.  

I've enjoyed getting to know her as @heyamaretto via Twitter over the past year or so, and a couple of months ago, I ended up on Diane's Facebook page, since someone had mentioned her artwork. She is a truly talented artist, and I knew that my wife would enjoy her stuff.  It reminded me a lot of artist Mary Cassatt, who is my wife's all-time favorite. 

I asked Diane if any of her pieces were for sale.  She replied that they weren't, since they are mainly focused on her own kids, but she mentioned that she occasionally did commissioned pieces.

Bingo.

I was ecstatic to hear this, since I thought that an original pastel of our children would be a perfect and creative Christmas present for my wife.  I am so thankful that I opted to do this, and Diane certainly did not disappoint.  She was even able to finish the piece and get it delivered to my home on Christmas Eve!

I had asked my wife to take a nice picture of all four of our kids, so she knew that I had something planned, but she was surprised by the outcome.  Needless to say, she LOVES it!  So do I.

Yesterday, we got it back from the framing place, and I hung it over our fireplace.  It's the focal point of our family room now.  Frankly, it's even nicer than the pictures here indicate.  I sent her a number of pictures of each of our kids so that she could get a sense of what they really look like, and she even adjusted my son's expression, using another photo, since he was squinting a bit in the group shot.

I think Diane would be willing to do more artwork, although I am sworn to secrecy with regard to what I paid, since I got the "friends and family" rate.

Thank you, Diane.  Your friendship is a blessing to me and my family.