Trace and Fill

I used the paintbrush to trace the lines of the photograph in white. Then I used the selection color tool, selected one of a range of colors inside the area, and then the paint bucket to fill the area. It was simple. I had my doubts though. After filling the first sections of the flower and losing all the exquisite detail that mother nature provided, I was sure this exercise would look hideous. But it doesn't. I persevered and really like the overall effect. The colors, the lines, the shapes....all pretty.  And, from a quilting perspective, I can totally see this as a quilt.  The quilting lines could stay simple to the concept, or you could pick darker threads and add the subtle shading that the flower started with.