If you’re looking for abstract artistic inspiration from nature, wow this is it. Spectacularly colorful, nudibranchs are related to soft-bodied marine mollusks, but have recently been given their own taxonomic clade, Nudibranchia. Nudibranchs live at all depths of the ocean and range from less than an inch to about two feet in length (20 to 600 mm). They’re the most amazingly colorful creatures I’ve ever seen! (in pictures) It was hard to narrow them down to just a dozen for this post!
Update: These are not my own photos. I wish!! No, these are the work of professional and very talented underwater photographers. Click them to link to the original, full size images. About half of these are from wikimedia.org, and the rest are from divematrix.com, ianskipworth.com, photec.co.uk, absolutescubabaliindonesia.blogspot.com, and messersmith.

As near as I can tell, this beautiful nudibranch is called "Fed Ex"...


"Fed Ex" again


"Nudibranch" means 'naked gill'. The frill you see on most nudibranchs are the gills.


Nudibranch Tulamben


Nudibranch Tambja verconis


Nudibranch Phyllidiella pustulosa


Nudibranch "Hopkins Cuke"


Nudibranch Nembrotha chamberlaini


Nudibranchs Nembrotha milleri have more dramatic coloring


Nudibranchs Nembrotha purpureolineata. Best of all, the art makes itself!


Nudibranch Chromodoris willani


Nudibranch Berghia coerulescens


Nudibranchs Chromodoris lochi

Click here for more! (this is a Google image search on nudibranchs)