WesternStock

So I'm closing this account and have removed all of my stock from dA. People can't follow rules, and I'm tired of getting lectured on chewed out for providing free stock to people.

My rules were simple. Credit the reference. Respect the lifestyle. Don't use it for hate art and dark art. Simple. Straightforward. Could people follow these rules? No. Even well-known artists on this site who know better couldn't follow the rules (talk to fire-n-ash who refused to credit references twice--when it was pointed out, she removed the art from the site). Research copyright laws, people. Photos aren't yours by right to use for the taking . . . .

Then there are the people who take it upon themselves to lecture me about hate art, dark art, censorship, and all that jazz. It's my photography. Period. If you don't like my stance on things, then fine. I don't like you using my art. (You know who you are).

Next let's get into the lifestyle. Not only do people know nothing about this lifestyle, they refuse to respect it. I had a number of pieces used in the last year to advocate political philosophies whose sole purpose is to put livestock agriculture out of business. No more. These people and organizations make their causes sound wonderful, but come on people! Research who you are advocating! Find out where they get their money from and what they use it for! 99.999999% of the time they are politically driven. The money isn't used for the causes they champion. It's used to lobby Congress for political reasons. Meanwhile, hardworking people are being put out of business, food prices are skyrocketing, and people are wondering why. Yeah. Research it, people. Both sides. Use filters. Everything in life is an argument to convince you of something. EVERYTHING. View life through a filter of what the arguments are, what sides they are taking, and what motivates them. You might actually learn something . . . .

Next is the nature of the art itself. I'm tired of seeing my photos taken and not being used for any artistic purpose. People just slap text on it. This site has lost the art. Where is the talent? Where is the effort? Where is the pride that people used to feel in themselves and their work? I'm not talking about people who pride themselves in being part of so-called elitist groups on here run by people who are anything but elite. I'm talking about people who have taken their art to new places that deviantART can't reach. I found those places far away from here. There are still some artists holding out, but most of the best artist have migrated or stay here, as I did, out of nostalgia for what the site used to be. The vast majority of good art on this site has left the site, and so am I.