Drawing the Line

My latest painting is either infinitely silly or quite pretty. (I suppose it could be both, but I'm aiming for neither.) Where do I draw the line? This is one I can't quite call, because I've always wanted to paint a wave, and this shell was exquisite back-lit by the sun through my window. Then I read this fragment: "...a shell from some far and wildly virginal sea," (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and the Damned) that seemed so apt that I trudged on..

So, here's a target. Let me know what you see/feel/think--in that order.  Is it beautiful? damned? damned beautiful? damned silly? It's these kinds of dilemmas that stop me dead, and I'd prefer not to stop/be dead.