What a relief to know Joey is safe and well! Thanks Jenny!

Thank you for that info, I knew the bond between the brothers was close, it is a poignant story!

Perhaps the saddest thing is that to my knowledge Van Gogh sold maybe a few pictures during his life time, he died without being appreciated. His brother financially supported him. His works now sell for more money than I could ever dream of ...

Just a little legal thing here, if someone has written something, or has posted their own work on the internet then legally it is their work and can claim copyright to it. It really is up to us all as individuals to honour this. The fact that other people do not honour copyright should not lead us all to say that once something is posted on the internet ownership is lost. Legal ownership still applies, though whether this can be enforced is another matter

OK I've lurked long enough. This is a fractal image, being composed of fractal elements, the fact that it looks like a bird has taken alot of skill! Whether I like it or not, or think it 'good' or 'bad' is something that is personal to me and really says more about me than it does the image. This is true of art in general whether one likes any image says very little about the image and more about the person/culture/fashion/viewer at that time. Are we trying to define fractal art here? We might as well give up as it cannot be defined ... we all have different subjective opinions and could discuss this for years in ever decreasing circles. I for one love the diversity here at R'osity ... and I appreciate the freedoms we have to post and learn and be inspired in this gallery. I am willing to accept that diversity in order to learn so much more than I would otherwise. As for the hot twenty ... hehehe! Its a game, so follow the rules :-)

I'm fairly new here (and have only just found the hot twenty!) .. I am overwhelmed by the supportive comments people make. I have no idea who you are and don't have the time to thank you all individually though everytime I post I feel guilty that I don't. I'd rather spend my time commenting on those images that I find striking. This is a wonderful community and the whole controversy over who gets in the hot twenty or who doesn't is just a small part of that. I am awed by the enormous talent here. Any comment/vote is a mixture of the artist's work and the viewer's subjective response. Its up to us to comment or vote, that is the democratic process.