Hey everyone


It's the time of the year where everybody is sharing his or her moments with family and/or friends. We think back about the things which happened in our lives and about the things that happened in 2008.

To me it has been an extremely busy & hectic year. Lots of drawings I've made, many artworks I've seen. But some bad things happened as well. I didn't know what to do and sometimes I felt desperate and lost.



But as soon as I read your comments, especially the ones which encouraged me to go on, the ones which truly show what you feel about art and why you practice art... I felt strong enough to pick up my pencil and paper and draw whatever I wanted to draw. I feel like I'm the luckiest person in the world when it comes to the support I've been getting at this community. People, where would I've been without you?



The following people who have been featured told me why they practice art -whether it's traditional art, writing, digital art or anything else- and I felt like the words they shared with me should be shared with you too. I'm sure that if they can encourage me, they can definitely encourage you as well.



With each category I quoted a few lines from a couple of artists which I loved the most. Be sure to read them too. You'll be surprised!





_{“Despite great adversity you can achieve anything you desire, so long as you're willing to work for it.”
~BAMikeyD}




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Personal Favourites~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A collection of my favourites from these features. I'm especially amazed by the fact that the artists who made these artworks are extremely modest about their own art abilities: "I'm not sure you'll think my art is worth featuring but I'll give it a shot"















_{“I truly enjoy my art, I do not strive to become better, I do not put other's down for their work, I just enjoy drawing, it's a good way to relax and it's something positive. In a world full of negativity, you must create your own joy and happiness, no one is going to do it for you, you gotta do it. So my art helps me survive.”
~Aikido456}





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Animals~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You may have noticed I'm a huge animal lover. Animals are very honest and true about what they feel. They can be loyal, heart-warming and caring. Perhaps that's the reason why I like the following images so much...














<sub>“I express myself and I seek perfection through art. I love to draw because it cheers me up and makes me feel like I'm special because of my talent.”
~FlyGirlPml


“It's like in art there isn't right or wrong it's just you, me, they and everybody else.”
~senicar</sub>





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Faces~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The human face and its features. Many times I've heard people aren't happy about the way they look. But doesn't imperfection make you perfect? Our expressions and facial features show who we really are: unique, beautiful and one-of-a-kind.


















_{“I don't really intend my drawings to be widely seen, they are just relaxation therapy for the moment I suppose. It doesn't matter if they are good or not, that's not why I love it, they are purely for my own pleasure most of the time, otherwise what would be the point.”
*loopylass14uk}






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Senses~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Senses make us notice the world around us, but also the other way round. They say the eyes are the mirrors of your soul for instance, like the ones you see below!












_{“Art is not only a stress reliever to me, but it also amazes me how many people out there just love to do this. Do it because they love it, and nothing else, it's as simple as that. It goes into how complicated this stuff gets, and how much pride we get by drawing or painting or tagging walls or whatever. Art is indescribable, but tells so many words. A simple picture inspires millions, it's so unpredictable and that's why I love it. The dedication, the love, the ideas...”
~Strong-suit}






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Nature~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nothing may seem as beautiful as nature at its best. It's surprising how colorful and pure nature can be.















_{“I love being able to create things that people find beautiful, inspiring, meaningful, heck... I even find it a positive when they think my work it odd. It means they felt something when they looked at it. A few of my pieces have even made people cry for sentimental reasons. I consider that as another ultimate compliment.”
=craftymama}






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Characters (Original)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isn't it amazing how some people are able to create their own alter egos and/or original characters. You'll be surprised to see what kind of great and original ideas they come up with!















_{“Nobody's really able to steal art, beacause it belongs to us in the deepest way possible.”
~NOcaster}






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Characters (Fan Art)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Existing characters from movies, novels, games, cartoons... all reinvented and reproduced in a new way by these amazing deviants.















_{“My art is who I am and to be honest I can't see myself doing anything else with my life other than this. It not only helps me express what I feel and how I see the world but it helps me relax. […] Pencil and paper aren't just tools of the craft in my eyes, but rather extensions of who I am.”
*the13thmember}






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Objects~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even objects can show some kind of emotion or feeling to an image...!












_{“As I go, I find it very hard to really hate any of my art, no matter how poor it looks. It just feels like it's part of me. I guess in that respect, drawing stuff is also my way of expressing certain emotions I've been containing, or expressing some kind of idealism. It feels very satisfying to me and I just love doing it… even if it takes me a while sometimes to gets certain projects down.”
~HetemSenar}






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Emotion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Art itself is a great way to show what you feel. The main subject of these deviations is emotion. It shows you what the artist truly felt when creating his or her artwork.












_{“I suppose I could say, art my get away. Also, when I draw portraits, I try to make them as realistic as I can, and that's just me being me. I love drawing people. It helps me appreciate others in a different light. It helps me realize that there is something magnificently beautiful about every individual.”
=prettylilly}






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~People~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This category may seem similar to the Faces one. However, these images show you more parts of the human body. I absolutely love people and their poses, expressions and forms.


















_{“Art should be something that is felt, not seen. Something that once you look at it you feel the emotion lurking behind the character or the animal, to be able to show people that they are similar to one another through art. That is what art is to me, but even more that words cannot express.”
~swimninja}






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



So yeah, that's about it. I hope you enjoyed watching these features.
Remember I couldn't feature every single one of you and if you didn't get featured it doesn't mean I thought your art wasn't worth to be mentioned. If I could, I would have featured them all.


Whether your art skills are more developed or not, each artwork that has been created with love, devotion and patience is beautiful and unique as it is. Keep that in mind, and you'll truly experience the phenomenon that is called art!


Happy holidays everyone.
May all your wishes come true.


With love,
~Nicolien