awesome.... congrats

why do and exact replica of a photo ? No creativity , That is why I do not like the use of close replication in digital art. If you use a source photo it should not end up looking like the source with a few little added bits . Your work is good but what did you really achive ?

I did this for you, to show how do do it right. Take a close look at it, it does not look like a photo at all and it is also different in many ways. All the painting steps is here in progress not just suddenly appearing.
And besides I had no qualms with your work , i just wondered why you would do an exact copy . This is NOT exact..

jubjubee the drawing grid has been around for centuries.. it's one of the oldest forms of teaching in existence when it comes to visual art (In fact, in many communities it was the norm) wonderful job author.. good luck

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/252/draughtsmanbc0.jpg/

Combining the old with the new is NOT a negative, if anything, it is a joy to see the old mixed with the new

I think this is a lovely picture, showing beautiful interpretation of the source, without being a hyper-realistic copy. I particularly enjoy the boats along the bottom. Very well done!

oh my god....it's so....purrrrfect. You made miracle

I'm not against the use of close reference but still appreciate more an alternative interpretation of the reference. Indeed, your skill is really good, the result is fantastic and I don't think your work looks like a photo. The only question is why did you choose this approach if your work will be removed for sure...

For me, this kind of entry is equivalent to setting up an easel and painting in a realistic way. Like Slushy said, using an art grid is just another tool to accomplish the goal of realism. I think this is a beautiful example of using an art grid to paint what you see.
Having said that, I like the addition of the boats, but (and this is just a personal preference) I think I would try making the sky and water a bit darker to help make the lights pop. This is a wonderful entry.

Langstrum ,it was removed , I had to add the boats to make it a not '' so close '' look. but this is not a paint over or a photo changed a bit to look like a painting, the painting steps are all there so why should it be removed ?

If by adding the boats, your reference is no longer considered as a close reference, then I feel happy for you. As I understand, the rule just mentions the use of close reference, so I'm not sure that your entry is safe now or not. Close reference is prohibited because there is no proof to say that an author didn't do tracing (I know you didn't). But I hope that you won't get any more problem. Good luck, author

This is close to the reference image and yes it was removed in it's original form but the author made enough alterations to be acceptable. It's not unusual for an artist to be inspired by an image whether it's painted from life or based on a lovely photo as this was. The workmanship is excellent in my opinion and I do agree with IDt8r who we all know is a talented artist as well. Perhaps others would have had a different take on the image but I see this as a fine study of an elegant subject and respect how the author interpreted the subject matter.
@Langstrum... I do appreciate your point of view and I can definitely state this was not traced, using the grid system will give you a very close approximation of the image used and I can tell the difference I promise you. As I said we all have our own ideas in what we create they wouldn't necessarily be right or wrong...just different.

Thanks for the feed back all of you, if you check my work here you can see I rarely do close work like this one . But this was really to show how to do a work with out being a exact copy. this clearly has a painted look which is why I used painter instead of ps.
Langstrum if you feel this is close then look at your last entry ' 'FLY ME TO THE MOON '' That is also a very close reference to your source photo . So I don't think I should have a problem here.

Let's not get argumentative here, in all fairness to langstrum his entry you mentioned is an original composition and not a copy of any one particular source. Your entry while acceptable is very close to the original image and composition and dependent on that and not a composition you originated. The decision of acceptability required some deliberation as it is very close to the source and you should accept the fact that some may not agree with that, as is their right.

Congrats on your win

Congratulations too for the first place!

this is just amazing, congratulations, well deserved

Congrats!!

Congrats Glockman, wonderful work

Thanks to all, much appreciated .

Me, too! Congrats on first with a beautiful entry. And thank you, too, for showing budding artists out there how an art grid works. I know that your ability is way beyond an art grid and taking the time to do it this way was very generous of you. (Now go make a tutorial, "How to Use an Art Grid".)

wow!!

Nice...it feels cold

Wow! Author I love this. The colors youve chosen are spectacular, especially love your vision of your lights. The depth you've given to the trees is great, as is the textures. You've really captured the magic of natures beauty.

great work author...love the Auroras and winter feel...well done

Wonderful painting. Love the look of the pines with snow!

Lovely! Nice colouring! I like the way you created texture in the trees.

Almost like a speed painting here. But you got it all right, nice overall feel and mood. My only gripe would be the two clouds , a more subdued effect on the lower part of them would have been better. Ilike how you handled the snow on the trees, nice effect.

Thanks Everyone. Glockman, I was trying to make the sky appear as if it had an Aurora. I wasnt quite sure how to do this and I think i went just a bit to far with it. Unfortunately I couldnt "back up" and had to stick with my result. I think overall this one took 27 minutes according to the time lapse. I would like to figure out how to paint an Aurora though....

I wish you got a better photo of it but still.. DAMN!! Nice entry!! Definite fav! GL!