Ok this is a bit of a controversial one.

I've been amazed by the natural beauty of the marijuana (or cannabis) leaf. It's slender leaf-segments with small points coming off and their stem running through each segment splitting into millions of veins along it. The marijuana leaf has become a symbol of power within modern culture. Representing for many a form of inspiration, release and relaxation. To some it represents a part of society they would rather regret or have rid of. For some it is a symbol of money as a commodity generating billions in profit within underground and criminal culture. The ongoing debate here in the UK is should marijuana be legalized. What do you think?

Drew the outline black onto a white background in Fireworks MX using the pencil tool. Converted the pencil to brush and airbrushed red circles behind the brush. I decided at this point it would look better with a black canvas so I inverted the brush and changed canvas color. Erased the parts of the red airbrushing that ran outside the leaf itself. Grouped the brush with the airbrushing and converted to symbol. Copied, blurred and adjusted alpha transparency as necessary to create the effect of the small leaf blurring to the big one. Finished off by creating the frame.