A little over a year ago I decided I would learn how to digitally create "real" art, after numerous years of creating all sorts of brochures, print ads, invitations, web pages, etc. in Photoshop and Illustrator. I knew the tools and could "manipulate" images with no problem but had zero "painting & blending" skills, which I have found to be much more difficult to learn. After completing a simple cloth knot tutorial to learn how to blend I decided I would "reference" (copy) one of my favorite artist's images to continue developing my painting skills...and here it is. This is my version of Michael Parkes *Moonstone* oil painting - 1984 . I started working on this image almost a year ago and was frequently so frustrated that there were long periods where I did nothing with it. Not knowing what I was doing, having no formal art training, and struggling to find my way wasn't very much fun, but I knew if I was going to get better I had to practice. BTW - the frame and the twinkle stars were my own idea, I just thought they kind of added to the feeling of the image. Confession time: This is the first posting of any of my work online, though I have been quietly lurking about here at Renderosity for a couple of years. The truth is that I lead a very isolated life, often filled with the "gloom and angst" sometimes associated with artists. If you have the time, you would brighten my day by leaving a comment (or email) or even voting (via the Gallery) if you think the image warrants it. Thank you...Ron Gardiner. Image and frame created in Photoshop 7 (Crane wings in Illustrator 10) with a Wacom Intuos2 9x12" tablet.