Finally able to submit my Arete entry
(see here or here for more contest details)

I made this wall right after the selection was made of this scan for the competition, which was way back in February, so forgive me while I attempt to reconstruct my process...
When I first saw the scan, I admit I was not excited...it was very typical Amano and I had been hoping for a more unique and perhaps lighter scan that would be more background friendly...plus...I'm not a personal fan of pink
However, after playing around with the scan, I hit upon the idea of reworking the colors (despite a desire to preserve the Amano goodness) to reflect the fact that the lady creeped me out ^_^' Plus...I was super excited when the idea of flipping the scan hit me on the head...DOKI

After that, several days flew by as I devoted large chunks of time to recoloring and cleaning/touching up the new color scheme plus adding things like extra petals
I knew I wanted to get a deep death/blood red contrast with a bright white but realized that a lot of great details got lost in the darkness...so I tried my best to bring them back subtly...especially the hair...gomennasai for my meager skill
The text is special to me cause usually I'm not a text person but I planned this into the wall while it was still in progress...the title to reflect the colors and the poem excerpt to reflect the subtle death that I associated with the lady (think Snow White's stepmom...hehehe) I amused myself by painting little flowers on the text as well...final touch was the lighting

Technical details: basically lots of painting, lots of hours, and lots of layers :D

Ok...done with the description essay...domo arigato if you made it through
Don't forget to check out all the other Arete entries :)