Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting
Marc Chagall said “Color is all. When color is right, form is right. Color is everything, color is vibration like music; everything is vibration.” Second Life artist Elaine Lectar is fascinated by color and uses it expressively to convey her emotions. Her landscapes are strikingly beautiful with vibrant colors. Her photos of people are restrained and emotionally resonant. As she describes it, “My pictures are expressions of feelings born from my soul. When I snap a picture, I am freezing in that shot my impressions of the subject. It is generated from my soul at that moment.”
What real life artists influence your art? How about SL influencers?
The 19th-century Impressionists inspire me. They painted using light and shadow in a way that reveals mood and emotion. To an Impressionist, nature is subjective and demands an emotional interpretation which is found by observing nature between light and shadow.
For me a photo is perception and emotion. I show what I feel in a photo, revealing my emotions in my choices of what elements of composition I emphasize, by emphasizing light or shadow, or with vivid, saturated colors or diffused light. With color I can add the sensation of heat or cold and evoke intense sensory memories.
There are many photographers in Second Life who are able to express emotions as I just described. Among of these I most admire is Loverdag. I remember two years ago, i was amazed by her shoots and all the emotions that she was able to convey. I was inspired by her. I want to take this public opportunity to thank her and highlight her. Thanks very much Loverdag! I discovered as in a virtual world there is real art.
What is your favorite of your photos? What was your process in creating it, from the idea to the end?
My feelings influence my composition and my choice of elements to include or take out.
Sometimes I decide to crystallize my sadness or a gloomy moment of real life. Some other times I want to reflect moments of wonder and joy. I use the few expressive tools of an avatar to show my mood.
With “A Tear Will Be With Me” [above], I wanted to externalize my own moment of sorrow. Through a tear that falls from my avatar’s eye, enclosed in a kind of dim light as if to hide the suffering, I wanted to convey my pain. Portraying the downward gaze and the dim light I wanted to show my deep resignation and surrender to despair. By highlighting this single tear I expose my pain. The only difficult thing was finding that one tear, adding to my avatar, and finding the right pose. The rest was to let myself go emotionally.
My suggestion? To try following your instincts, using photography for focusing our emotions.
If you do that, your shoots will become more beautiful.
Your art is more varied than most, portraits, action shots, landscapes, bold light, diffuse light, desaturated and hyper-saturated colors. Is this experimentation in search of a style or a rejection of the idea of having a style or just happenstance?
As i said before I love to express my emotions through photography. I want to do this in different and original ways. I like to experiment and try something new to express myself.
I am in love with “Flowers” [above]. You use backlighting a lot to make your pictures about form, what was your goal and process with this photo?
This picture was taken two years ago. I remember watching these particular flowers. I began experimenting with various Photoshop filters after I shot the picture. The exact details are difficult to remember. Each picture comes out of a sensory process in the moment. It is always different. The choice of WindLight, the angle of the sun and shadows, using different filters are all influenced by my emotions in the moment.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm an Italian woman who spends a lot of time with personal computers. I am curious to discover the many ways this virtual world offers me to be creative.
I spend a lot of time with a special person who shares this passion for experimentation and growth with me. Our relationship navigates laughter and fights, but we continue to share this space together. He is the man in many of my photos whom I love very much. I dedicate to H3LL my special thanks for that.
Elaine Lectar continues to experiment with color, mood, and emotion and for that reason, I will continue to follow her varied and colorful stream.
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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