“The library was a mighty hall, lighted from the roof, which was formed of something like glass, vaulted over in a single piece, and stained throughout with a great mysterious picture in gorgeous colouring. The walls were lined from floor to roof with books and books. All around the walls, in front of the books, ran galleries in rows, communicating by stairs. These galleries were built of all kinds of coloured stones; all sorts of marble and granite, with porphyry, jasper, lapis lazuli, agate, and various others, were ranged in wonderful melody of successive colours. Over some parts of the library, descended curtains of silk of various dyes, none of which I ever saw lifted while I was there; and I felt somehow that it would be presumptuous in me to venture to look within them. But the use of the other books seemed free; and day after day I came to the library, threw myself on one of the many sumptuous eastern carpets, which lay here and there on the floor, and read, and read, until weary.”

— Phantastes, by George MacDonald

Down in the turquoise waters of the sea are ocean rocks hollowed by the waves into caves and grotesque shapes. Around them grows sea-weed and coral in every shade of the rainbow. The rays of sunlight shine the ripples of the surface down on the sandy floor littered with seashells and starfish. In the distance dolphins play around a diver against the background of giant kelp.

Happy New Year!

Just some fun with a fireworks model.

I have a maple tree in my yard that sometimes turns these colors in the fall - red on the outer leaves, then yellow, and the inner leaves still green. Other years, though, it just turns yellow. Then it's more like the tree in my Autumn Guardian.

I started out with a snowflake ornament, and intended this picture to celebrate the first day of winter, but I decided the star looked better. I think it was still appropriate, to celebrate the Light of the world on the longest night of the year. And that year it was also the new moon, so it was the darkest night as well!

“Silent Night! Holy Night!
All is calm, all is bright
'Round yon virgin mother and Child,
Holy infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace,
sleep in heavenly peace.”

I wanted to do something with lots of jewel tones. Created entirely in Paint Shop Pro.

“When we are born, we cry that we are come
To this great stage of fools”
—King Lear

I had been to an opera, and one of the acts opened with these multicolored spotlights and three lanterns. I decided to recreate a scene like that for April Fool's Day, and the colors made me think of a harlequin or jester's motley costume.

Just playing with flowers and depth of field in Vue.

I took the fractal I used in Storms of Life and played with it, rotating, recoloring, adding layers, etc., and ended up with something that looks rather like a combination between a gravity well and a lightning storm.

This fractal created in Apophysis turned out looking like some very brightly-colored coral. I added the gold framing and gem in Paint Shop Pro.