This is what you get when you lie on the bench watching the “Clouds Go Sailing By”, instead of mowing the grass!

This is the second of three variations of this scene,
Clouds Go Sailing By
Winter's Chill

This picture developed like many of my abstracts, with a fractal design that I played with and manipulated until it didn't bear much resemblence to the original. It this case it was an orange and lavendar pattern that looked rather like a phoenix's wing.

This fractal created in Apophysis turned out looking like some very brightly-colored coral. I added the gold framing and gem in Paint Shop Pro.

I was playing around with a tutorial for creating interesting backgrounds, intending to overlay it with some kind of filigree design. But it turned out so dramatic on its own that I didn't think I should add anything to it. Doesn't it make you think of a brilliant sunset just as storm clouds are clearing?

“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.”
- Matthew 28:1-9

I wanted to try something metallic besides gold and silver, and I remember my high school Chemistry kit had a copper compound that was bright blue (azurite?), so I decided to try them together. Then these butterflies showed up fluttering across my screen and offered to pose for me, so here they are! Actually it's an Apophysis fractal that I thought looked like a butterfly. You have to have a good imagination working with fractals! This was also another attempt at drawing faceted gems.

This pictue from 2009 is from a photograph of some crepe myrtle leaves on the ground. It's weird how the weather affects the fall colors. A tree that I photographed in brilliant color the year before declined to put on any display the next year, but the crepe myrtles I had never noticed in the fall were all red and gold. I missed getting them while the leaves were still on the trees, so I had to shoot them on the ground. Then I added a filigree design to emphasize the leaf shapes and colors more.