New World Notes

Cajsa’s Daily SL Flickr Pick: Color-Saturated Virtual Home Decor Pics by EXIS

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

EXIS  is a Second Life decor blogger whose work is instantly recognizable by her rich, saturated colors. “Times Are Changing” sets a Bohemian mood. I confess that as much as I love these decor-rich photos I would have the jimjams with the degree of clutter. My preference in decor is fire inspection-ready with clear walking space, nothing on the floor, and nothing too close to outlets, lamps, and heat sources. As pretty as this is, for me it’s pure fire hazard. I guess that is the byproduct of losing everything to a house fire, which by the way, had nothing to with clutter.

Cajsa’s Daily SL Flickr Pick: Kevin XI Russo's Perfect Composed Duotone Pics

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

“The Old Skatepark Revisited” by Kevin X Russo is a composition masterwork. A duotone, the contrasting light and dark spaces give him all sorts of edges. The dark wall on the roof lines up exactly a third from the bottom. The top of the subject’s head is exactly two-thirds from the bottom, and the subject is placed just to the right of where exactly one-third from the right would be. He is looking down at his feet and his shadow that intersect that line. The choice of making this a duotone rather than full-color made its geometry the most forward element. It’s a fascinating picture. The longer you look at it the more you see.

Cajsa’s Daily SL Flickr Pick: Candy Gunpowder Uses Fashion & Decor Shot to Tell Intriguing Stories

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

“Ｉ ｓｏｌｅｍｎｌｙ ｓｗｅａｒ ｔｈａｔ Ｉ＇ｍ ｕｐ ｔｏ ｎｏ ｇｏｏｄ" from Autumn Rose (who signs her images with her SL name, Candy Gunpowder) is a creative homage to Harry Potter’s Marauder’s Map. How appropriate that her blog is called Her Wild Free Heart. She tells an entire story with just two items, worn out shoes and a map. A bokeh overlay add a bit of fantastical whimsy.

Cajsa’s SL Flickr Pick: Nefekalum's Transgressive Fantasy Fashion Photos

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

I love Nefekalum’s photostream. Relentlessly inventive, exploring the boundaries of fashion and gender, Nefekalum’s photos are never boring. “Sweet as Honey” is beautifully constrained in its colors and has an initial impression of glamour, but with a closer look, the smears of honey taken on a transgressive feeling. There is a wildness there that is not obvious at first sight.

Cajsa’s Daily SL Flickr Pick: Benoit de Montgelas' Photographs French Royalty Roleplay

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

It is always fun to take a peek at the role-playing groups such as History Recreated. There you discover artists like Benoit de Montgelas whose photos show a strong effort to be historically accurate. I was drawn to this picture which is called “MdM Spring Collection” even though it clearly advertising his own creations by the cherry blossoms. They are opening here in Portland and the streets are brilliant with their blossoms along with the magnolias and camellias.

Cajsa’s SL Flickr Pick: Barra Sweetwater's Beautiful Virtual Landscape Photos

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Barra Sweetwater does excellent and intriguing landscapes that make me want to travel to the sims she highlights. This (above) is “Ukivok” taken at the sim of the same name. Ukivok is a sim by Serene Footman and Jade Koltai who have brought to life Furillen, Black Bayou Lake, Khodovarikha, and other memorable builds. Often when sims recreate real-world locations, they are made false by their emptiness, but Ukivok is a village that was abandoned decades ago when their school was closed. Sweetwater’s picture captures the melancholy loneliness of a place that has lost its people.

Cajsa’s Daily Flickr Pick: The Nine Minimalist Masterpieces of Yuya Jinx

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

You can see Yuya Jinx’s entire photostream of Second Life images in a moment. This photo is called “...” which implies a continuation which surely works with a ship at sea, but then she uses ellipses for other pictures. I love how the clouds reflect on the water, the brilliance of the sun and the birds following the boat which is placed using the Golden Mean. It is exquisite.

Cajsa’s Flickr Pick: SL Screenshots Edited With an iPhone Into Visual Art

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Mayumi Sugarplum’s recent Flickr stream is an exploration of editing and experimentation on Second Life photos she took in the past. “At the Seashore” reminds me of a Degas painting of dancers. Her photostream is also a testament to personal resilience and the creative drive. She has been ill for some time and is no longer able to work directly in SL to take her photos. She is using her iPhone and iPad to edit old photos from years ago. Each reimagined photo links to its original so you can see how she took those pictures and cast them anew in a more impressionistic and surreal framework.

Cajsa’s Daily Flickr Pick: The Naturalistic Virtual Photos of Brandon Taselian

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Brandon Taselian has one of the most lifelike and naturalistic photostreams of any Second Life enthusiast I can think of. I think he may create composites from real life street photos and his SL pictures. “Streets of California” uses the Rule of Thirds, though is a bold move, the subject is moving out of rather than into the frame.

Cajsa’s Daily SL Flickr Pick: The Kawaii Cool Images of Sugar Imp

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Sugar Imp gives us pure kawaii joy in "Cherry House". Animals gather around the subject, even sitting on her head. She's sitting in a cute little sidecar made of a wood produce box. It's all bright, colorful, and happy.

Even in her "Sexy Nightie" photo, Sugar Imp's kawaii spirit comes through: