I wanted to thank you wonderful Deviants for all of your birthday wishes and moral support. I cannot effectively express how much it all means to me. I don't consider myself an "artist" -- I am a storyteller. I tell stories through words and images, and I *try* to do it well. To me, true art tells a compelling story. It isn't just beautiful. Physical beauty, in my humble opinion, is overrated. There is so much empty beauty in this world, and while it draws my eye like it would anyone else, it never holds my interest. Real beauty is complex and flawed. Real beauty is scarred and wrinkled and, in spite of it all, still laughs at life.

Special shout-outs: ,  ,  ,  ,  

You guys are priceless.

And now, some art that inspires me to get better because they are so awesomely stunning: