no, im older. im also very interested talking to people like you, thats why im sticking around this forum, i have never met anyone sharing this passion.
I checked out your myspace. your work is divine, I love it. keep it up.
About my work, I mostly use digital painting to build my pieces. I also use photographs to give more realism. Also, I complete my work with watercolor, acrylic, conté crayons, staedler pencils, pastel for the grainy texture, so much stuff...My advice is : go easy with photoshop filters, nothing is better than a good pencil, for the quality, render, texture...well its my opinion. And I always use my Wacom tablet : wonderful invention.