Variations

Variations on a theme
I recently spent some time at Bald Hill Creek Adventures in North Dakota.  This unusual mount in the lodge really caught my eye as an artist/designer.  Just the shape of it was exciting, and the story made it even more so--two bucks locked in combat to the death. I could see the image as a poster or flier cover.
   

The browns were chosen to match the deer hide and knotty pine boards.  I gave the darker brown a hide/hair texture and a tattered edge to give the whole thing a more rugged look.

Decided the whole thing was too monochromatic so I added some contrasting green and put some red back in the pine boards. I kept the texture in the darker green and added some shadowing to the lettering to give it more action.

Finally, I combined the two into a third variation which (I feel) keeps the best of the earlier ones.

I added more contrast to the brown "mat" to bring out more of the deer-hide texture, and removed the blur to the lettering but added stronger shadows.  I hope you agree with my final choice.