Thanks, guys! For all the and ! I am hopelessly behind. I don't like not thanking people individually, but I get a lot, and I have been trying to visit everyone's gallery instead. Hey, I really, really appreciate each and every one of you!

Because of deviantART's new arrangement, I'm a little lost at the moment, so I will have to rely on my past lists to thank people for fav's. Please know I am VERY thankful, and I will do my best to thank each and every one of you, but please also know, I will visit your gallery when I can!

Update on watched deviations: I have around 34,000 and have been whittling away on them. It's still way too many, but I'm plugging away at it. When I get caught up, I will come thank everyone for fav's and watches, because I will look at your gallery if you're new to me. So hopefully, I'll be able to visit before too long. Thanks for your patience, and just know I appreciate you all to pieces! I will have more time for awhile, to look at things, it looks like.

Just so you know, I am more likely to fav your work if 1. the image is small enough so I can see it without doing a "view image" which means I leave the page, you do NOT upload a png file (too large), and you don't put a watermark on it. Instead, put a copyright notice on the edge, or a URL to your site (free advertising if someone steals your image). The watermark often destroys the design. The jpg format is perfectly adequate for screen viewing in almost all cases. If you have detail you want to keep crisp, save at a lower compression. Don't give me your print file! I don't want it.

Don't forget about This is for people who like to tweak fractal images, and digital landscapes. It's been deader'n a doornail, so let's see some activity!

Thank you.

Calendars:



________________________________________________________________________

AND NOW FOR THE NEW STUFF!

Folks,

This is another quick visit, though I hope to come more often. I'm still working on my big project, and I have also been working on several other things.

Most notably, I'm off taking pictures again. I spent a day at the Renaissance Festival. Got lots of really nice pictures of people, a few of the buildings. The highlight of the day was the carillon. I had no idea; it came as a total surprise. The guy was GOOD. And very entertaining. He is quite the showman. He travels around to Renaissance faires and has a couple of associates who do the same thing. His instrument weights four tons, and consists entirely of bells, of course. I am now preparing a page for my web site on carillons, and he will be featured. One very unusual thing about his work is that he often combines the carillon with other instruments. And one of the pieces he played is a special favorite of mine: a segment from Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. After the performance, I showed him that I use that piece as the ring tone on my cell phone! Right then, my sister called to tell me she is finally a grandmother! He also played O Fortuna from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. The music was so loud I got away with singing along. I had performed that some years back. It's a hoot!

At the end of the day, when I went to find my car, I couldn't find it anywhere! I was getting tired, so I probably did less walking and looking than I would have otherwise. That said, I did walk for about 20 minutes, and by that time, I needed NOT to be doing more walking. Finally, I went back and got security to help me. They found it right away!

A few days later (and I think no relation to this event, because I think it was actually a reaction to an ointment I used on it, almost like a chemical burn) I got NASTY blisters on the sole of ONE foot. It was extremely painful to walk for about a week. It's still tender, but I think gradually getting better. I have a problem with that leg anyway, but manage to navigate for the most part in spite of it.

Since that time, I have been to the botanical gardens to photograph butterflies several times. I plan to go back this week. Maybe Thursday, but don't tell anybody. I don't want to get waylaid!

I also have found places to photograph orchids. I love orchids! I am preparing a gallery for Webshots of Orphan Orchids. Orphan because they aren't growing in their natural habitat. There is no such thing around here. Oh, and I got featured! One of my sunsets got featured on Webshots! I haven't seen the announcement yet, but people told me about it. And I also got members choice for the album! The photo that got featured is also in my gallery here: [link] . I got lots of nice complements from people. I was particularly pleased they chose that one. You can see it on Webshots: [link]

Anyway, I'll be putting up photos soon, and I hope to have some time to return your wonderful comments in the next few days. Thank you so much for all your support!

________________________________________________________________________

********************WARNING*******************

Folks, I got a note from !marydunner , who has been banned. (And by the way, there are more like her out there, so this warning is for ANY note you get that tells you to submit your photos, poetry, whatever. deviantART is staying on top of them, but in the few hours before they catch one of them, you could get hit with a sweet note telling you how much they love you, etc.) The effusive note said I was a genius and invited me to enter a free art contest at picture.com. For some reason, people are signing up under different names and then passing around this canned message. So don't just look for this one. There are others. Just so people know, that's a HUGE SCAM. They have these contests that are supposedly free, but you can't win anything big unless you go to a conference to "present your art". The conference costs nearly $1000, and you have to pay your transportation, food, and lodging to get and stay there. Also, if you get an honorable mention or greater, you can PURCHASE a silver cup or some other meaningless trophy. YOU have to pay for it. A legitimate contest gives you the award for free. Out of a few thousand contestants, they award one grand prize of $10,000, and a few other prizes for $1000. Other than that, you're out of luck. The ONLY way you come out ahead is to win the grand prize. They publish coffee table books with pictures in them, and they like it if you buy the one that has your picture in it. I also had two pictures on their site, and they started SELLING things like cups with one of them on it, for which they get ALL the profit, WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. I will never have anything to do with them again! PLEASE pass on this warning! deviantART was right to ban her, but deviants may fall for it, so we need to spread the word. Sure, they might sue me for it, but if they do, I'll OWN them!

Just a few stamps; I will add to these.



Everything below this sentence is old news...

They won't let me be a yellow alien anymore! Well, I'm still one at heart!

Don't ever forget Jark!
[link]
[link]
[link]

I support the Unknown Artist Project.



Here are some artists I'd like to tell you about. Some of them are not unknown artists, but in my opinion, they are still well worth watching.

Exquisite bird photos, many in flight:



Profound and beautiful photography:



Gorgeous Ultrafractal images:



Incomparable Apophysis images:



Innovative fractal work:



Awesome Terragen:



Spectacular Mountain Photography:



Their collages and fractals are amazing!

:thumb7555302:

Her sunset pictures are exquisite:



One of the most spectacular prints in the store:



Daily Deviations.



I have put the other awards in the collection of awards in my gallery. Please take a look! They are all there, and it's a better way to organize them. I have moved most of them, I think.

[link]

The rest of these awards and honors don't fit well in that gallery, so I leave them here for now.

Another wow! I was featured in the news today! 10/1/06.

[link]

Thank you to !!!

featured me in his journal: [link] !!!

Thank you so much!


Thank you for featuring my art here: [link] I am in some distinguished company!

featured my gallery. [link] Thank you!

has featured me frequently. I VERY MUCH appreciate it!

Sampler of my work:


:thumb9418182:



Please note: if you are interested in a print of any of the above, in most cases I can make one available. Please ask! Eventually, I will have nearly all of them available.



Sampler of my prints:







Member of:








If you are newly visiting my page, please note that I have uploaded the following types of art:



Photography (landscape, nature - including macro and animal, architecture, people)

Photo manipulation

Experimental photography

Fractals made in Apophysis, Ultrafractal, and Xenodream

3D art in Terragen, Bryce, and Vue d'Esprit, some abstract, some scenes

a smattering of needlepoint and sculpture; watch for other traditional arts




This will help you to choose what genre interests you if you choose to visit my gallery, and wish to concentrate on one genre.



Feel free to leave a comment in any language. I read 15. If I don't know what language it is, or I can't read it, I'll let you know, and I love a mystery! Heck, if you are willing to do that, I might even leave you a comment in your language.



I am uploading print files for older images as I have time. If you have a particular favorite and would like to buy a print that isn't available, let me know. There is a good chance I can provide one on request.



Once more I want to assure you that I really, really appreciate each and every time you support me in any way. I will respond to as many as I can, but I want to give you all a HUGE thank you right now. Also, when I can, I will visit your galleries. I am discovering that I have a huge list of galleries I want to visit, but I am keeping track, and I will be there to see all of my supporters eventually.



I try to make my images a good size for viewing. This means they download quickly for those of us (like me) who have a slow modem, and lets you see the images as I intended it: whole. I would like to encourage others to do the same. We can see more of your images that way!