Windows XP has been one of the most iconic and widely used operating systems in history, loved by millions of users around the world and hated by just as many. One of the most iconic features of Windows XP was the default wallpaper, which showed off a green hill and a bright blue sky with a few fluffy clouds.
This timeless backdrop, etched into my youthful memory, is now available for iPhone, iPad and Mac, albeit with a twist. Included is Bliss, a wallpaper collection from our friend @BasicAppleGuy.
Rethinking Windows XP Wallpaper
Thanks to @ BasicAppleGuy’s research, I found out that the image was not CGI. According to him:
Shot by Charles O’Rear in 1996 in Sonoma County, California, Microsoft later acquired the rights to the image in 2000, which used the image as the default wallpaper for Windows XP when the operating system launched in 2001. The wallpaper depicts a gently rolling, sunlit hill. against the backdrop of soft and small fluffy clouds against a bright blue sky.
Inspired by this photo, BasicAppleGuy created a more minimalistic wallpaper in the style of macOS Big Sur and Monterey stock images. To gently swirl the colors so that they still resemble the original photo, he created a Mesh Gradient background on which the colors were applied.
My favorite is Evening Bliss, which features a red sunset just below a darkening cobalt sky. Regardless of the color palette, the entire collection creates incredible lock and home screen backgrounds with its minimalistic design.
Read about BasicAppleGuy’s creative process, check out his Mesh Gradient backend, and download the macOS and iPad versions via his dedicated post. If you want to automatically scroll through each of these images on your macOS computer, download the Time-Based Dynamic.
Stay tuned for mid-week downloads and stay tuned for upcoming posts!