"Modern Briar Rose"

This semester I am in Vector Graphics, and our mid-term assignment was to use gradient mesh to make a realistic looking piece. I had a lot of trouble on this piece because it was originally just supposed to be the face at the top. I worked hours and hours on making the face look as realistic as possible, and then Prof. Blum told me that people/faces are one of the hardest things to make look realistic. So then I decided to completely change my piece, and make my subject a rose. After finishing the rose, I was satisfied with it's realistic look, however I was still not satisfied with the whole composition of the piece. That is when I decided to combine both ideas to make this piece. It's my ideal artistic representation of romance with a modern twist. I called it "Modern Briar Rose" because Briar Rose was actually the german translation for sleeping beauty. This piece immediately made me think of sleeping beauty after I finished it; however, it looked like a more modern piece that would be displayed in contemporary art, rather than art from medieval times (like the original sleeping beauty). I hope you like it!!