I wanted to do a unicorn image because they are magical creatures and full of love.  I had started this image about 6 months earlier but couldn’t finish it…something was missing that I needed.  And when I saw the pink flowering plumes of Tamarix, I knew that was what I had been waiting for!  I wanted a springtime look and they said it all.  BUT I had to scan them right away because they were fading on the bush and would be gone if I waited.  
 
Pieces were made separately for this image and added to the background.  I originally made the unicorns of brown leaves and was going to see if I could make them white using Photoshop.  Didn’t work.  Had to re-do using birch bark, hosta and the backside of coltsfoot (light green).  I LOVE the brown version however and plan to use later! 
 
Fennel and cosmos manes and tails; moss in the foreground.  Yellow flowers were Photoshopped in and I cannot ID.  Purple flowers are Heliotrope which I buy every year for my garden.  Love the smell!  Grey stones are backsides of Coltsfoot.  Bits of Queen Anne’s Lace mix with Tamarix under the trees.  
 
The reflection was an exciting experiment!  I flipped the image upside down and adjusted the Opacity to lighten it.  I did a lot of adjusting and re-doing with this image.  The pieces once put together did not blend well color-wise and I had to re-do the moss and adjust the background darker so the white unicorns showed up well.  The pink trees came in too dark and visually over powered the unicorns!  Ugh!  I also got too complicated and the image was just too BUSY so I simplified!  There is such a thing as OVER DOING!  
 
As leaves are biodegradable and will fade and deteriorate quickly, original Art is scanned immediately after creation, preserving their beauty long after originals are gone.   Enjoy!