...with all the notes and comments I get here.

I'm tremendously grateful to all of you who use my art, and share your own, and I wish that there were 3 of me so that I could keep up with the comments. Unfortunately, there aren't. This morning my in-box contained 4,000+ messages and 2,000+ unread notes. If I had a broadband internet connection and keeping up with DA was my full-time job, I still couldn't do it.

Consequently, I've updated my stock usage rules (here: [link] ) to remove the part about leaving me a note; I won't be able to review and comment on every art-work. But if you leave a comment on an image, with a link to your work, others will be able to see it. I plan to periodically check and see what's going on, so I will still be +faving works and, of course, my stock crops up in all kinds of weird places on the site, all the time. So I'll still be watching you.

The bottom line, for me, is that doing this on DA has become a whole lot less fun. Between the idiotic "mature content" rules, the sheeplike attitude of the DA staff, and the inane self-congratulating babblings of the site's founders, I've pretty much lost interest in anything to do with the site except the artwork and artistic exchange. To me, that's a shame, because the web already exists as a perfectly good vehicle for that, and I don't need DA; DA's owners and administrators need to remember that the site needs good art and artists - not the other way around. Always remember that the people who have time to run around reporting art-works for "mature content violation" probably have that time because they're not creating anything worthwhile, themselves. For that matter, those who administer - have time to administer because they're not creating anything worthwhile with that time. Think about it. If that sounds like me being contemptuous and elitist - so be it.

What was really eating at me - and still is - was my inability to track everything you guys are/have been doing with my art. I was losing sleep. I was spending time reading my DA notes and +faving images, when I could have spent that time in my own studio, being creative. I was feeling guilty because I could not engage each and every one of you in the respectful, personal, dialogue that you deserve. But - ultimately - I can't. So I'm not going to try, anymore. It's nothing personal, it's just how I choose to spend the limited time that I have available - and I'm going to spend that on my art. I hope you understand.

I'll try to drop in at random in various places and say "hi" and I constantly stumble across art that uses my stock. So I'll be around. Now, stop reading this and get out there and create something beautiful.

mjr.

PS - my birthday is Nov 5. Do you think I'll break 2 million pageviews by then? I'll be 46. I never thought I'd make it past 40!