Winter Swans wallpaper

Happy to present Winter Swans desktop wallpaper, two swans that bring a swirl of snow to your desktop!

It’s snowing. Big snow flakes that slowly drift down. Whirling gently, like on film. You’re walking down the street… Wait, is that really snow? What if you suddenly notice that actually, the snow is white feathers? And then you see that they come from swans flying above you, in the sky? Is that a dream?

This piece has gone through a creative process with numerous changes. In the beginning I drew the swans. They felt right. Next I created orange blossoms and filled the swans with the blossoms, almost like a pattern. And petals seeped out from the wings, forming a shower of petals. But something was wrong with it, I wasn’t happy with the design, it was too fussy. So I started over, this time I drew feathers and scattered them onto the birds, letting the feathers drift out to form snow crystals. Again, too fiddly. Too crowded. Cluttered. Scratch that idea. Snowflakes? I tried that, and now I knew I’d got it.

Do you discover an image or does it discover you? Do you dream a dream, or does it dream you? Does inspiration come to you or do you go out and look for it? Can something you create ever be finished, or do you simply have to decide when to stop?

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This pack of wallpaper includes versions for fullscreen and widescreen computers as well as the iPhone, iPhone 4 and iPad.

The creative process of The Full Cold Moon

Here you can get a peek into the creative process of The Full Cold Moon.

How it started off with the basic composition with bare trees and a full moon. How I added snow and then a bird that got too detailed to fit in with the rest of the image. How I gave the bird flat colours so it would fit in with its surroundings, although I still miss the bird in all its glory!

Dreamboard. Full Cold Moon. December 2009.

Something astonishing happened while I was creating this dreamboard. Three nights in a row, I heard a bird sing just as I was watching the moon. That’s something quite unusual at this time of year, to hear a bird sing at all, and particularly at night… So I realised that a bird had to be part of this dreamboard, and I created a bird that is red and alone, so the bird would stand out as clearly as the birdsong I had heard.

I’m asking December to bring me a peaceful and white winter. Time to recharge. To appreciate the beauty around me and bring it into my home. I see effortless, playful minimalism and strength in this dreamboard too. And music.

This is the third dreamboard I’ve made and the first one that actually has the moon in it. Here you can see some images from the creative process behind The Full Cold Moon.

My previous dreamboards have been about exploring creative expressions and giving my creativity wings, but when I look at this dreamboard I see a winter holiday card and a pattern for textiles. I’d like to make curtains like this! I’m not sure how I could make it a repeating pattern vertically, but I’ll see what I can do to put this idea into print. This is a creative dream I’d like to bring into my new year!

I love the intuitive process that these dreamboards bring out! It’s so exciting and powerful! Thank you Jamie for hosting the Full Moon Dreamboard Circle!

One of the dragons from The Nine Dragons handscroll (九龙图／九龍圖), painted by the Song-Dynasty Chinese artist Chen Rong (陈容／陳容) in 1244 CE.

After trying, without success, to photograph birds this Saturday, I’ve still been thinking about them. Birds. And trees. Light and dark. So today I’ve been reading about mythical firebirds with brightly coloured plumage. The Phoenix lives a long life, and then is consumed by flames of its own making, only to rise again from the ashes. This lonely bird (there is only one Phoenix) is a universal symbol of the sun, mystical rebirth, resurrection and immortality and represents a cyclical process of life from death.

I discovered that the firebird is found in many cultures, the earliest found in the Egyptian Bennu (meaning “to rise brilliantly,” or “to shine”), the soul of the sun god Ra. The Persian sacred bird is called Huma or “the bird of paradise” or “bird of fortune” and looks similar to a heron. Compassionate Huma is said to have both the male and female natures in one body, each nature having one wing and one leg.

Death of a Phoenix, burning in the flames.

The Greeks and later the Romans called their firebird Phoenix, φοίνιξ, meaning the color purple-red or crimson and pictured the bird more like a peacock or an eagle. According to Greek legend, the Phoenix lived in Arabia close to a cool well. Every morning at dawn, it bathes in the water of the well and sings such a delightful and sweet song that Apollo (the god of light and the sun), would stop his chariot (the sun) to listen to the enchanting song.

Fenghuang is the Chinese correspondence to the phoenix, a chimera composited of many birds including the head of a golden pheasant, the body of a mandarin duck, the tail of a peacock, the legs of a crane, the mouth of a parrot, and the wings of a swallow. Gentle and immortal Fenghuang brings good fortunes and the expression “Dragon and Phoenix” signifies wedded bliss. And then I started to read about Chinese dragons, with their long, serpentine bodies, a supernatural or spiritual symbol of heavenly power… And all this started with flocks of birds that refused to let themselves be photographed.

Detail of the painting The Nine Dragons, by Chen Rong (active c. 1235–1260), painted in 1244 during the Southern Song Dynasty. The painting was done with ink on paper. It is now located in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Dreamboard. Full Frost Moon. November 2009.

This dreamboard didn’t turn out as I had planned it, not at all. And here I thought I had clear idea for what I wanted to bring into November! Since I’ve been spending my autumn expanding, following my heart, being in my creative process, participating in projects, resetting my internal compass, getting to know new friends and connecting with old ones, I felt it was time to, consolidate. To retreat to my home, to prepare for the holidays, find peace, bring beauty to my home, do yoga and sort out drawers. That is what my dreamboard was supposed to be about, but it took a direction of its own.

What I see is a dreamboard that’s about giving my creativity wings! Finding creative freedom. And a dreamboard strongly influenced by the bright colours of the autumn leaves, that bring me so much joy and inspiration!

For those of you who feel inspired by this dreamboard, I created Satsuma Sky, a desktop wallpaper and calendar for November with this motif. I hope you enjoy it!

November. Chestnuts, satsumas, celeriac, mangos, parsnips and pears. Darker days and candlelit evenings. Shades of orange and brown. I’m so enjoying experimenting with watercolours and collage techniques. This desktop wallpaper takes its cue from the autumn skies, watercolours and the explosive oranges of autumn leaves. A perfect backdrop for both Luminous Orange Folder Icons and Luminous Purple Folder Icons.

The download contains fullscreen, widescreen and iPhone versions.

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