Kill your Windmill - The Schildt Effect

I have always been fascinated by Emil Schildt's technique of destroying negatives (as he puts it) to achieving an artistic effect. But what to do when you shoot digital without a negative to scratch, burn, cut, plaster with coffee stains and cigarette ashes? Have no fear. Another reason to use digital "manipulation"! And I hate that word! Anyway, having thought about it, I decided to try applying the Schildt effect in the analog domain to a piece of white paper, crumpled, scratched, burned and smeared with cigarette ashes, then scanned as an overlay to the base image along with an assortment of enhancement steps.

As you can see, it sort of works, but still needs plenty of refinement to achieve that "artistic destruction" without a "digital look". And I must say that's the hardest part; clearly an attribute separating the artist from a neophyte technician, and having gone through the exercise, I have developed deeper felt significance and appreciation for Emil's level of artistry. Thank you Emil, for the inspiration!