Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting
I am drawn to Amber Wild’s photostream by her nearly singular focus on headshots and the magnificent crowns and headpieces she wears. Her pictures and bold with vibrant colors and gorgeous floral fantasies that you might find from Frida Kahlo. In her interview, she affirmed that the fantasy element of Second Life is integral to her SL art and a source of beauty for her.
In her first life, she’s been painting since she was four and ran a fashion house in Dublin where she designed clothing. She is relatively new to Second Life which has become a fantastical refuge for her during a long illness. As she explained, “I am old school and believe in using light rather than expensive software to enhance my shots. I own a Nikon and when I became sick Second Life afforded me the beauty of the camera and portraits that I love so well with a touch of fantasy always. I can get lost and live in the moment in this beautiful world were time does not exist and my mind is free,”
How would you describe your art?
I would describe my photos as an extension of myself and how I love to make a mood with colors and also perhaps slightly abstract fantasy and usually taken in the moment ~ my mood changing the feel and colors. This ultimately changes Amber’s mood as I have one thing that sets me apart perhaps ~ a little of me is always into her in that moment.
You seem to have an obsession with headdresses and hair ornaments. What underlies this intense focus?
I have always had a love of portraits. They move me and I love eyes most of all. I have come from another world before SL and fulfilled my potential there. I am not a fussy picture person ~ I love using the page as a palate with changing color or stark white etc. I use the headpieces because they give Amber her unique appeal and also have the detail I desire to just add the splash of color or mood I am looking for.
What artists influence your photos and your style?
I grew up loving Michelangelo and have learned so much particularly from his sketches ~ I practiced on these until I could draw a hand as good as him ~ simple beauty. I adore fashion shots from all the top magazines ~ simply beautiful and one can learn so much from just looking ~ fashion is also a love of mine.
Much more Wild below!
What is your favorite photo, what did you want to express with it? How did you create the photo?
Being quite new I have yet to achieve the picture I i would love. I have a few I like but they change from time to time with my mood. In this moment I like two.
The reason I like it ~ the clean sharp light and use of positive and negative. How she simply stands out and yet looks miles away in dreams.
I love the quality and look I caught in her eyes in this and depth of field ~ she is simply one with her world. I never quite know what I am looking for until I find myself in the moment and then I am lost in it with her ~ simply transferring my feelings in my own world lost in time.
I like the sort of deconstructed quality of “Tangled Up in You.” What were you thinking when you created this one?
This picture I was using the nature of her and the tree to mesh her with it and yet make her apart ~ I am not the kind of set up a picture person ~ it finds me and we share it ~ I am always lost in this moment and my heart and soul are free ~ concentrating on details and yet not set up ~ I love the challenge of getting that shot using just light and my eye ~ I am not one for using software to edit ~ to me that is another category.
Any tips for other photographers?
Never be afraid to use the whole page ~ never think you must have it picture perfect ~ I admire all photography in example Vogue Magazine ~ notice half a head can be cut off but it still looks stunning.
What do you want to share about your RL? How has that come out in your art?
The beauty of SL is that I leave my real life behind and so I do not mix them at all. They are two separate places. SL is a place I come to like a safe harbor ~ simply forgetting everything. I find I put how I am feeling into my art this is a kind of therapy and also I feel gives a little magic to my picture if you have the eye to see it.
What do you want people to know about you?
That I am kind and caring and try to give and support as much as I can others who might need help when I can,
Cajsa Lilliehook joined Second Life in 2007 and has been enjoying the art of SL ever since. Disliking the common practice of critiquing poor photos, she decided to highlight good ones and explain why they work in hopes of inspiring with praise instead of criticism. Follow Cajsa on Flickr, on Twitter or on her blog.
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