Pretense of Spring

And as she walked in the biting chill she came to a place where the snow ended. Here the flowers bloomed, the birds sang, everything was green and it smelled of spring. In the midst of it all he stood, black as the spaces between the stars and just as silent. A gentle giant.

--

Photomanipulation seems to be a big thing these days and it's something I've never tried before. So I thought I'd give it a try. This is my very first photomanipulation. It looks pretty to me, but I am sure there's a ton wrong with it that only a veteran photomanipulator would be able to point out to me. Thus, I welcome all critiques! Please!

The title "Pretense of Spring" is taken from an episode of the anime Mushi-shi. In it, a type of mushi causes an area to blossom into spring in the depths of winter.

Stock art used:

=night-fate-stock for the snowfield/girl foreground
*Grinmir-stock for the Friesian horse
~Spazz90 for the forest background

And a special thank you to *AuroraDesignz whose photomanipulation tutorial inspired and helped me make the decision to try photomanipulation.

Edit: I managed to disable the print but I can't erase it completely. Why does DA have the print submission page where it is? It is like a horrible horrible trap.