Brush Experiments

I wasn't able to learn anything specific today that I hoped to.
I got a bunch of new brushes at qbrushes.com - a website I recently stumbled upon.
Today I did several experiments - as I usually do when I get new brushes.

They came out... interesting to say the least.

The first of these is Towering Flames. It's just a concept piece. I have been trying to successfully imitate fire for a long time. Nobody on the internet seems remotely good at it (without using source pics), so I'm rather pleased - it's the best yet, and makes me hopeful.
This second one I just did today, also. It's called Bearing it All. Perhaps it's a sign of my troubled heart... oh well. I'm perfectly happy... on the outside, at least. It's rather strange and shocking that such an abstract brush could have such an effect on me. It's still a decent piece, considering that I don't usually use perspective like this. Yes, the silhouette is actually me - from a photo.