Greetings DA,

So...lately I've been watching DA...ALOT.

Nothing really wrong with that I guess, DA is amongst one of the greatest art communities out there (there being the internetz, of course), there's so many talented and wonderful people here. Photographers, painters, designers...some don't belong to any usual "field" of art, and some fit into more than one!!

I remember I found DA by accident. I was browsing the web, and fell upon it via some random blog link...(What was it, now? Metafilter?? I forget...). I got to looking around and was amazed at the vastness of it. The range fo works, styles and the size of the community. It definitely pulled at my heart strings to see such a massive celebration of art in all its forms out there.

To be quite frank, my first experience with DA and the art shown on it WAS fetishist based. It made me feel safe and happy to see various ideals and...well...fetishes...treated in such a way. Yes, it was risque, often graphic, and it was DEFINITELY in your face sometimes. But when I read closer, observed the artists and their thoughts, they spoke of their personal interests and their thematic/subject based works professional and politely.

There's always been some tongue-in-cheek moments of course, but my point is - DA promoted in me a side that had always been there, but had stayed in the dark. It was fantasy, it was imagination, it was steeped in my own set of ethics and "interests", but it was always respectful, open-minded and willing to engage positively with others!

Since god knows how long, I've come on DA, and viewed what you ALL have had to offer. I've faved a million times and commented just as many times too...okay maybe not THAT many times, I do have a life outside the ether of the web, but still...DA has made me laugh, it has made me think and it has definitely fed my eyes with the beautiful, the masterful and the...well, the deviant

Lately i've found more freedom to take up my OWN art. I've never really posted anything on DA, partly because of the fact that you people are too L337 for me, but partly because i've never really wanted to do anything that made me look like a comment/fav/hit whore...someone who was "in it" purely so they could get noticed and build a small army of followers...

LATELY...I've been slowly realising that, well...maybe it really IS time for me to step in with this crowd and contribute myself. Maybe it is time that I share what I have to offer, and maybe I should do so soon.

At the moment I have one or two works I think are worthy on DA. Much of everything else I've ever written has been used elsewhere (university assessments, experimental projects that never see the light of day, etc, etc, etc.)

I guess what I'm saying is, for those who have witnessed my obsession with DA, but have wondered why I HAVEN'T contributed back...stay tuned. I promise I'll make more of an effort. It's the least I can do for you folks, those who have inspired and entertained me so much!

Hoping you're all well!

Keep looking out!

~Anth.