I will be slowly but surely leaving this website for several reasons. I've come to find that DA (probably purposefully) makes it VERY difficult for anyone to leave. Had it been easier, this may have happened a year or so ago. I know it would not be difficult for them to make a "delete gallery" function. But that would make it too easy for people to leave. And then they wouldn't be the biggest online artist's community, would they? So over the next month or so, you will see my gallery disappear. Here is why:

1. Most importantly, I am merging into a professional art career and this website as part of my resume is very unprofessional. My main use for this website has changed over time. At first, it was to share and critique art with other artists. Then it was to update my family & friends on what I've been working on. But now, the only practical reason I need this site is because I don't yet have a personal website exclusively for my art. Stay tuned for KaylieAbela.com. But until then, this does not serve that purpose because the work is unorganized and not selective.

2. I barely converse with anyone on this site anymore. Honestly, I would not be surprised if NO ONE reads this journal entry. That is sort of the outlook I've had for the past couple of years here. I don't recieve any comments on my work or my user page from old friends and people new to my gallery alike. I've felt like I'm the only one who actually browses my own gallery. It can feel pathetic, quite frankly.

3. I have my work in many different outlets on the internet and that is not good for any artist. Eventually it will be stolen and either reclaimed or used in a manner opposite its copyright. It probably already has and I just haven't caught it. I don't like to use watermarks because they take away from the image.

4. My prints don't sell. They are actually beautiful prints, I've ordered some, but no one else buys them (and I feel that I have done enough to promote them) so I don't need that portion of this site either. And I was pissed when they started offering the prints service for free, and I'm sure everyone else who paid for the membership prior to the change was as well.

5. Has anyone else felt like it's increasingly hard to submit a deviation? It takes, like, forever. It's annoying and I don't have time. Especially considering the zero comments it will get.

6. We've all heard this one before, and it does not make the majority of DA members happy. The style and quality of art has significantly changed since I joined the site 5 years ago. It is increasingly amateur and of no interest to me. My work is amateur as well, but in a different way. I don't even consider this an insult to newer members, actually. Because the time when I was the most active on DA was the time I had no idea what I wanted to do either. So I guess it's natural, but it goes back to my first reason for leaving; I'd rather not be associated with beginners when I am starting a professional career.

7. Oh yeah, I'm starting a professional career. My resume is bigger than ever. I'm currently in two shows nationally (NYC & Minneapolis) and there are only going to be more. I would be embarrassed if a gallery owner who accepted my work stumbled across this website.

That pretty much concludes it. So after five years, hasta la vista DeviantArt. There are many other ways to stay updated on my work, if any of the zero people reading this are interested. I recently started a blog that I'm pretty proud of, and you can access it here: [link] I also have professional and personal pages on facebook, which you can access here: [link] and here: [link] respectively. Thanks and buh-bye.