I originally made this nice chilly abstract to start out 2012.

There are probably several philosophical interpretations for this, but I didn't have any particular one in mind.

I found this virtual chandelier model and decided to render a close-up of it in Vue. I made a couple versions, this one with cool evening lighting, and a warmer, more colorful version I called Sunset in Crystal.

“‘Down there,’ said Golg, ‘I could show you real gold, real silver, real diamonds.’

“‘Bosh!’ said Jill rudely. ‘As if we didn't know that we're below the deepest mines even here.’

“‘Yes,’ said Golg. ‘I have heard of those little scratches in the crust that you Topdwellers call mines. But that's where you get dead gold, dead silver, dead gems. Down in Bism we have them alive and growing. There I'll pick you bunches of rubies that you can eat and squeeze you a cup full of diamond-juice. You won't care much about fingering the cold, dead treasures of your shallow mines after you have tasted the live ones of Bism.’”
— C.S.Lewis, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair”, Chapter 14, “The Bottom of the World”

Can you see them peering quizzically at you?

I like to get as much use as I can out of good fractal designs, so I used Chaos Tie-Dyed for the background and flower textures.

This was an exercise in color symbolism. Purple often indicates royalty and wealth. Because it's (relatively) rare in nature, and purple dyes used to be difficult to make and therefore expensive, only the wealthiest could afford to dress in purple.

“Her clothing is silk and purple.…”
- Proverbs 31:22

“And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.”
— Esther 8:15

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.”
— Luke 16:19

“They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’”
— Mark 15:17-18

This interesting piece of music has been making the rounds for quite a few years now. This, if it's authentic, is the most anyone seems to know about the “composer”. Here is the complete piece.

An attempt to illustrate Infinity. From atoms to galaxies (actually fractals, but they can pass for galaxies), plus some circles and rings. The fractals were made in Apophysis, the rest I made and put together in Paint Shop Pro.

This was the result of playing with golden spirals. And the dark greens and blues, plus a little hint of purple, look like something under deep waters.

I used Terragen for this mountain-scape. No plants or other objects, but I was able to use the terrain coloring to suggest vegetation and rocks. It makes me think of Yosemite National Park. All three mountains bear some resemblance to the Half Dome there.