Bliss: a Windows XP inspired wallpaper collection

Windows XP was one of the most iconic and widely-used operating systems in history, loved by millions of users worldwide, and hated by just as many. One of the most iconic features of Windows XP was its default wallpaper, showcasing a rolling green hill and bright blue sky, with a few fluffy clouds..

Burned into my young memory, this immortal backgrounds is now made for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, albeit with a twist. Enters Bliss, a wallpaper collection by our friend @BasicAppleGuy.

The Windows XP wallpaper reimagined

Thanks to @BasicAppleGuy‘s research, I learned that the image was not CGI. According to him:

Shot by Charles O’Rear in 1996 in Sonoma County, California, Microsoft later purchased the rights to the image in 2000, which used the image as Window XP’s default wallpaper when the operating system launched in 2001. The wallpaper features a gently rolling sunlit hill on a background of soft & small puffy clouds against a vivid blue sky.

Taking inspiration from this photograph, BasicAppleGuy created a wallpaper that was more minimalist and in the style of macOS Big Sur and Monterey stock images. To swirl the colors in a gentle way that still resembled the original photo, he created a Mesh Gradient background, onto which the colors were applied.

My favorite is Evening Bliss, which brings a red sunset just below a darkening cobalt sky. Regardless of color palette, the entire collection makes for incredible Lock and Home Screen backgrounds because of their minimalist design.

Bliss Day iPhone wallpaper Download
Bliss Morning wallpaper for iPhone Download

Evening Bliss wallpaper for iPhone Download
Night iPhone Bliss wallpaper Download

Rainy Bliss iPhone wallpaper Download

Read about BasicAppleGuy’s creative process, see his Mesh Gradient backend, and download versions for macOS & iPad via his dedicated post. If you want to automatically scroll through each of these images on your macOS machine, download the Time-Based Dynamic file.

Learn how to apply Dynamic Wallpapers in our iDB how-to tutorial. Take a step farther, by learning how to make your own Dynamic Wallpapers. And, if you can’t get enough BasicAppleGuy images, you can visit our curated gallery dedicated to his top work.

To influence our iDB Wallpapers of the Week collection, shoot me a note via @jim_gresham, where I curate the gallery. Follow along for mid-week downloads and sneak peaks of upcoming posts!

From the archives

24 Hour Dynamic Wallpapers