I've been on this site for 7 long years, and it's been a wild ride. I've been through more versions of the site than I care to count, have made friends, been inspired, seen drama, laughed, cried, had to reorganize and recategorize my art more than once, and have grown as an artist. I remember when you didn't have to be subscribed to get comments that were useful to help you improve, I remember the hoopla and screaming over anime artists not being allowed to get DTFs or DailyDevs anymore.

I've seen a lot of people quit the site, come back, quit, come back, threaten to quit for the drama, come back, and continue to cycle for attention. And as much as I'd like attention, I am not doing this for drama or to flounce out, but rather to let anyone who would still like to be in contact with me know where to find me.

The past few years I was a DA subscriber- only because the subs were Christmas Gifts from good friends. I enjoyed being subscribed because of the benefits. I liked being able to post thumbs in my journals, know who was visiting my gallery, and be able to see 120 images to a page. Unfortunately this past year no one could afford to give me a subscription, so I let it go and figured I could live with using the site at the free level. This hasn't been the case, though. Especially not this last week. The ads for subscribing are becoming too obtrusive and are ruining my experience with the site- to the point where I was fuming mad and screaming last night about it. It's one thing to have the "Upgrade Now" at the top of my screen, it's another thing entirely to have pop-ups (that get around AdBlockPlus because they're part of DA's system like the window that comes up when you're choosing a category for a new submission), messages in my Message Center with "We noticed you're not subscribed!" and the BRIGHT PINK ad on the Submit page. Apparently people that aren't subbed don't get to ask for critique anymore? What is that shit!?

To me, this is kind of like following a fellow Etsy Seller on Twitter and getting nothing but spam about their shop and sales. When that happens and I've had enough, I unfollow them. The only thing really that has been keeping me here at DA has been that I'm USED to posting here. And unfortunately I feel like all DA wants to do is sell me things rather than support artists lately, so it's time to say good-bye. I've been pondering setting up my own site for my art for a long time anyway, so this is the kick in the ass I needed. In the meantime I'm going to move posting my art to my blog, which is http://livewirechick.blogspot.com/. I'll probably stop back in from time to time since I didn't completely wipe out the list of people that I watch. I kept personal friends and people that really inspire me and will be by from time to time to see what they have new. I'm leaving up my gallery too as a showcase of my past art, but won't be putting anything new up.

It's been great, DevArt, and I enjoyed the past seven years, but it's time for the baby bird to get out of the nest and out on her own. Peace and well wishes to all of you and I hope to see some of you over at my blog. I appreciate all the watchers and friends I've gotten over the years and every single favorite and comment I've gotten- you all have been an inspiration and I'll always remember my good times here.

Remember, you can now reach me at http://livewirechick.blogspot.com/, http://roannachan.livejournal.com/ (my journal is friends only so please message me and let me know who you are so I can add you), http://lizstaley.etsy.com/, or with my e-mail address liz@oap-studios.com

So long, and thanks for all the fish!