I like this; the color is subtle but clear, and the transition out from the center is gentle, flowing smoothly "through" the darker ring. I am not at all fond of the highlight/reflection in the center, though, and think it detracts. It's not uniformly shaped, being not quite round and having an extra shape in it that sticks out a bit. I might have tried to clone the whole highlight out myself; the center seems to have enough consistency to use either clone or heal in Photoshop (or something similar) and make it one block. If you want to keep it (it does add some character to the block of color in the center), I would at least make it perfectly round.

Great abstraction, I think the highlight in the center adds to the shot, it gives it an imperfect quality that enhances it.

kind of reminds me of hal 9000 from 2001: a space odyssey

Hi Rob, I actually like the center part if the candle like this. But thanks for the ideas, gives me more to think about.

very nice ! good idea, well executed... breaking the rules, for a purpose: winning combo!

square crop would maybe improve the impact ?