Mr. K, I think you're on to something!! It would effectively say that we're the artists that use our own eyes and we're confident enough to go our own way!!! That would straighten things out fast wouldn't it? 

John, you're absolutely right about the trends and about seeking out the truly innovative and fresh ideas!! I will try harder not to let the masses cloud my vision:) 

Thank you both for sharing your views with me, what a great way to start my day!!!

Well, Photoshop has come a long way since its injection in the mid 90's. I know many people that use it straight up as their favorite drawing tool using a tablet. Many of the functions, layer abilities, and masking allow you to create works of art very quickly.

On your other points of all these tutorials out there I agree than many techniques are being replicated over and over and over.

I like original content. I am kind of tired of seeing the same style being repeated that I've already seen a million times. 5 years ago it was the "futuristic abstractions" that people made using some 3D program I can't recall the name of at the moment, and now and over the past few years this "grunge" deal has taken effect. They are all fads, and unfortunately that is how most of our society works.

However, there are many artists and graphic artists out there doing innovative and original ideas. You just have to work hard to find them :-