"But, for a long while....

"...they sang only each alone...or but few together, while the rest hearkened."

- The Silmarillion

Here I have tried to show the Ainur singing together. Keeping in mind that only those of similar backgrounds would be able to sing together at first.

"For each comprehended only that part of the mind of Ilúvatar from which he came. And in the understanding of their brethern...they grew but slowly"

- The Silmarillion

I have used nebulas and star fields to represent the Ainur and Maia and in creating their voices I combined elements such as lightning, musical note bars, wave patterns and water ripples.

Strawberries, monarch butterly wings, faun spots, autumn leaves, a cardnial and Georgia O'Keffe's "Oriental Poppies"...were all used to convey the spirit of the three main Ainur that are singing in this image.

(Hopefully...the image will bring to mind the ainur Yavanna, Nessa and Vana, the three ainur closest in mood and demeanor with nature, harmonizing together. I wanted to use these three personalities int his image to convey the idea that only those ainur who were most like each other would at first sing together.)

I really wanted to give a nod to Vana and Nessa since they are in my opinion under-utilized ainur in the telling of this story.

Depicting them abstractly here was a way to make sure they become incorporated into the story and not just pushed to the wayside becasue their contributions to the Silmarillion as a whole were less dramatic or substantial then some of their ainur counterparts...why, even Tulkas, Nessa's spouse, has a much larger role in the overall story then his wife does.