Sometimes I wonder who came up with the idea of green beer… and why it ever caught on. I mean sure, green is great, but personally I prefer my beer to be beer-colored. If, on the other hand, you’d like your Windows desktop to wear the green, we do have a few themes to help you set the mood for St. Patrick’s Day. Our Ireland theme contains gorgeous landscapes from the Emerald Isle – and a sound-scheme based on traditional Celtic music.
As legend has it, if you can find the end of the rainbow, you might discover a leprechaun’s secret hoard of gold. The golden coins remain hidden in our Rainbows theme, but all the vivid colors of the spectrum are on full display in rainbows shining over landscapes from Wales to Madagascar.
For those interested in a single-image experience, try this dramatic new wallpaper in which a rainbow arcs over the lush green Irish landscape, from photographer Michael Poecki. I think it looks great as a Windows 8.1 lock screen.
We also have a crop of new themes for you, all from returning contributors. Fans of the stunning space-scape artwork in the popular GTGraphics and GTGraphics 2 themes will be excited about the release of GTGraphics 3. In this new theme, German artists Tobias Roetsch and Jeff Michelmann extend their dramatic signature style even further into mysterious worlds of fantasy, including underwater realms, castles, and haunted city streets.
The next new theme also comes from Germany – photographer Markus Janse explores the peaceful shores of Spiekeroog, a lovely North Sea island off Germany’s northern coast. You might already be familiar with his photography from the German Landscapes theme, which includes one of his images.
A mood of tranquility also prevails in the new Morning theme, from Russian photographer Alexandr Popkov, who previously brought us Colors of Nature.
After my armchair travels through Europe (and outer space), the next two themes bring me right back home to Washington State. Photographer Christopher D. Elliott’s first collection on the Personalization Gallery was his Snowy Owls theme; now he celebrates a beloved local landmark in his new Mount Rainier theme.
Another special aspect of this region takes center stage in Christopher’s other new theme, which showcases many species of Pacific Northwest birds in their natural habitat or visiting backyard feeders.
Personalization Gallery regulars already know this, but we also publish new wallpapers for those of you who have an older version of Windows that can’t use themes, or prefer to use a single image. Here are a few of the newest wallpapers:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
I hope you’ll keep checking back on the Personalization Gallery for more new themes and wallpapers to keep your Windows PC or Windows Phone looking fresh – and green.