Image: “Paper Flowers in Tribute to Georgia O’Keeffe” by Severin Sorensen using MidJourney, 5/13/23.

Prompt: In paying tribute to the system of Georgia O’Keeffe, Create a magical artwork merging paper lottery tickets and dollar bill roses into vibrant organic real flowers in the form of roses of many colors. Add a splash of colorful powder rising from the flowers like pollen lifting effortlessly upward, evoking love, hope, and prosperity. 8k.

Paper flowers, so what are these? Since the 4th reminder of my youngest son Weston, reminding me that his mom likes flowers, I have strived to purchase flowers each week as a token of appreciation and affection for my wife. When I’m in town, I buy a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Costco or one of the other retail stores. When I’m on business travel, I purchase a Lottery Ticket that my wife calls “Paper Flowers.” She loves the thrill and hope of what a winning lottery ticket could bring. The funny thing, is these paper flower lottery tickets tend to last just about as long as the real flowers, and she enjoys the thought of the possibility of ‘what if’ these flowers will bloom.

So I thought, what a great idea: let’s create a bouquet of paper flowers that I can send to my wife to accompany the Lotto tickets.

On disclosure, this was a more difficult project than I anticipated. I ended up changing my prompts four times. This is an example of the persistence that is required to get the image just right for you.

My original prompt was, “A bouquet of MegaMillion and Powerball lottery tickets that bunch and form to create a beautiful paper bouquet of flowers that mystically and magically become powerful, beautiful, emotional, and wonderful flowers. Cinematic. Bright Vivid colors. Magical. Transformational. Emotive. 4k.”

For me, this was not good enough, do over. I attemped a few upscales and variations and it was not driving in the design direction that I wanted so I pivoted to this next prompt.

Prompt: “Imagine an extraordinary artwork that intertwines the concepts of luck, wealth, and natural splendor. Begin with a bouquet consisting of meticulously folded or rolled US dollar bills, skillfully shaped into intricate origami roses. Let these money roses gradually blend into a vibrant display of organic flowers, creating a mesmerizing fusion of artistry and nature. Enliven the scene with small birds gracefully flying above the bouquet, embodying love and fortune. Craft an artwork that evokes a sense of awe, gratitude, and the limitless beauty that blossoms from affection and opportunity. ” 8k. Full color. Photo – realistic.”

This came a little closer to what I was looking for, but still not anything that I thought I would use for the purpose I intended. I gave this a few upscales and variations and produced another version that started to get to the tone I was seeking.

So I pivoted again, and rewrote the prompt taking it into another direction. Here’s the new prompt: “In paying tribute to the system of Georgia O’Keeffe, Create a magical artwork merging paper lottery tickets and dollar bill roses into vibrant organic real flowers in the form of roses of many colors. Add a splash of colorful powder rising from the flowers like pollen lifting effortlessly upward, evoking love, hope, and prosperity. 8k.”

This was starting to get closer to the effect that I wanted to acheive. So I then modified the prompt another time to the following: Prompt: In paying tribute to the system of Georgia O’Keeffe, Create a magical artwork merging paper lottery tickets and dollar bill roses into vibrant organic real flowers in the form of roses of many colors. Add a splash of colorful powder rising from the flowers like pollen lifting effortlessly upward, evoking love, hope, and prosperity. 8k.