Ruby Eyed Beauty

Some days, the BG is almost as close as the FG...So, accommodations must be made.  Everything in this photo was very sharp and colorful.  So much, so , it was just tooooo busy!    So I decided to make this into a work of art.  I de-saturated, blurred, selectively darkened and liquefied the BG, to give it a "hand painted" effect.  Then, I placed the entire image on a tight weave of burlap.    Hope you like the effect, as much as I do.  The dragon is still colorful and crisp, but, now, it is not confused by so much clarity around it!