Several years ago I was surfing the net, looking at various art pics.  Having not tried my hand in 3d artwork I could only admire the many beautiful images that were created.  I then stumbled into Renderosity and something amazing happened.  I was challenged to show off my own work.  With gentle encouragement and kind words I posted my first image.  Praise and encouragement followed which helped me do more images.  Although I pop in sporadically, I owe it all to the wonderful community here.