I have been active on DA for three or four years now. Before that I lurked and watched, not having yet built up the confidence to show any of my own work. I admired various artists on the site from afar, watching and +faving from the shadows. Then little by little I started submitting works and honing my skills in response to feedback I received and trends, techniques and advice I gathered along the way. The people who have been watching and commenting on and +faving my work really helped me develop some of that confidence I was lacking. I dedicate this article to all those people, and most importantly to my watchers. These are the people who have most supported my work through DA; given me much needed feedback and helped me to develop as an artist.

DA has great potential for feedback on artworks and development of artists through interactions with a community of diverse talents and knowledge, as the featured watchers here show. No matter your talent, experience or confidence, there are ways to contribute. But all to often it comes down to a popularity contest in which most contributions become merely numbers.

Numbers don’t matter to me as much as people do, and the connections and influences we can have with and upon each other. The numbers can merely indicate the occurrence of this. You can have all the numbers you like; if you’re not connecting with people, even for a moment or two, it really means nothing.

I appreciate the support and feedback I have gained through my interactions with people on DA, from those who press a button to tell me they like something to those who tell me at length what they think of it. Especially from those who enjoy my work enough to watch it progress. I encourage you to show your appreciation for your watchers too. Give the watchers some love

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Dierdre of the SorrowsUpon the walls of high Connacht,
Ere the winds toss the clouds,
And every night alone a dirgesong plays,
Through the mist: the Moorland's Shroud.
"Fair, fair, the crying maid,
Mairs the pity a young maid in tears!
Where has your beloved gone?"
"Lost through all the years."
Ah, to be pitied sure,
Oh so fair, with pale white skin,
With lips like roses and eyes like moons,
And a core of valiant steel within.
Standing there upon the walls,
Hair wrapped about by wind,
Like fingers of your Beloved,
Whose eyes now stare out blind...
"Fair, fair, the crying maid,
Mairs the pity a young maid in tears!
Where has your beloved gone?"
"Lost through all the years."
All black you wear you forgotten bride,
Who spurned the touch of a king,
And wait in his wedding bower,
For the news your Lover would bring.
But nay, he shall not come again,
His brothers march on greening Cooley,
While you must wait for your vengeance
In this gray and misty thule.
Your heart is worn dear maid,
It is so sad to see.
How co

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timetime slips
and twists
and runs away
like a kitten
small and white
under a harvest moon

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The RavenO patron saint of darkness
Thy inked feathers glisten
In the light of the waning moon
As your powerful wings carry you high
Up into the kingdom of the angels
To which you grace with your presence
Those who christen you a scavenger
Know nothing of your loyalty
Know nothing of the magnitude of help
To which your friend the wolf owes you
They fail to see the alliance
Which humans sadly lack
If I were to be so lucky
To have an existence such as yours
I'd carry myself away from the fighting
The rage
The hate
And let the ravens caw lull me to sleep
The sky is the worlds safest haven
And this sky is owned by the mighty raven. :thumb170864704:
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Internet"Excuse me. It's really not that funny. As I said, it's raining in my laptop. It's half-rusted already. There was a puddle of water under it when I came home."
On the other side of the phone, the IT specialist was trying really hard to muffle his laughter. He wasn't doing too well.
"I'll…" he choked "…I'll definitely ask the entire department about this. Maybe they'll have a clue. I…" he chuckled and hid it in a cough. "I'm sorry. Horrible cold. I've never heard of anything like this before."
"But the others also promised to come back to me with solutions. They never did."
"I'm sorry, sir. Your problem is waaaay beyond my area of expertise."
The IT expert was hanging up already, but Mike could hear, just before the final click, a cry of long-suppressed mirth. "Get 'im a shrink!"
Mike looked at the laptop. The couch was soaking wet under it. The USB side was starting to show a reddish tint of rust. He sighed and plucked the internet cable out. A few remaining water drops


21st Century Cure?To "Iodine",
I'd just like to say that you changed my life, although I'm not sure if you know that you did. I won't delve too much into how or why though, it's more of a personal matter really. But suffice to say that, without your seemingly random friend request (yes we knew someone in common, still was random) I would have never known what I do now. You showed me how misconstrued my perceptions of things were, and it opened my mind.
Shortly after you would help me by listening and providing advice, even giving an important piece of insight that I believe will become essential as time goes by. I know later you got disappointed due to some of the choices I made and that's unfortunate, but at the time it seemed like the only option available. You were right though, it just made me look false and like a sell-out. And again for that I thank you as well. We haven't spoken much lately but I hope you know that you impacted changed my life, and things'll likely never be the same from hencefor

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:thumb159042439: My worldIn the darkness, you are the light
In the cold, you are the warmth
you are the keeper or my heart
you are the holder of my soul
you are the bright star in my sky
you are my heaven, you are my star
you are my other half and because you are all these things
This lone wolf is now yours and I will always be by your side
so as the wolf that I am I will always be loyal to you
I will never betray you for as you are mine I am your's


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