New World Notes

Cajsa's Choices: Fun, AI-Free SL Photos by Lake Solee-VII

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

Lake Solee-VII. shows the power of “less is more” in “Reviviscere.” I imagine more than one person could be brought back to life by this pic, metaphorically of course. Imagine for a moment how she could have framed this, standing against a post or a wall, a full body or three-quarter. Would it be half as interesting? Would it catch your eye or would you page down, just one more fashion pic in a stream of hundreds of new fashion pics every day. But this, this is arresting. It requires a closer look. Pictures of a woman wearing a pair of jeans are a dime a dozen, but this is sui generis. I had to stop. .

For more of Lake’s uniquely fresh vision, click here:

Cajsa's Choices: The SL-Based Imagery By "Awesome Fallen" Are Awesome Indeed

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

Awesome Fallen has one of the most powerful photostreams you will find in Second Life Flickr, heavily post-processing SL screenshots into something transcendent. “On Social Media……” captures the effects social media can have on a person, tightly wound, sharp but internally vacant, with detritus flying too fast to comprehend and understand, leaving us stunned, but also hostile. It’s amazing and immediately, I knew I had to feature her work. 

For more from Awesome Fallen, click here:

Cajsa's Choices: Charmingly Casual Slices of Virtual Life by Shakilyn Peppermint

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

Shakilyn Peppermint gives us a slice of trailer park life in “Just a Girl with a Dream.” She has a great set up, though, with her swimming pool and her chickens. She’s unusually lax about allowing that German Shepherd to harry the chicken. I love how naturalistic the dog is. Animals have come a long way in Second Life.

For more Peppermint, click here:

Our Second Life Flickr Group of the Week is Decidedly Edgy & Different!

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

Charlotta Jackman aka Handdrawn posted this intriguing picture she called “Keep playing with fire…You’ll never be able to handle the heat.” I love this picture. For one, it’s so different from the usual pictures of body or headshots or landscapes. She zoomed in close and is sending a message, a warning to all who would trifle with her. 

I found this picture in the group Second Life's Edgy -Different. So what is edgy or different? I spent some time browsing through the group to find out. This is an adults-only group, but don’t worry, if you’re okay with occasional explicitness here or there, it’s a lovely group of photos. 

For more edgy and/or different pictures, click here:

Cajsa's Choices: Lally O’Leary's Vibrantly Varied Second Life Imagery

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

Lally O’Leary is a fun account to follow, in part because you never know what she will do next. I said something similar four years ago when I wrote about her back when she called herself Lally Starsparkle. Whatever her last name, Lally is sure to please. I love “The Photographer” where she makes the intriguing decision to leave a lot of space bin the field before the subject. It creates a sense of vastness that would be lost if her subject were up close in the foreground. 

For more exciting photos from Lally, click here:

Cajsa's Choices: Elise's Avatar Portraits Exude James Dean-Like Coolness

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

Elise chooses to work in black and white which, in my opinion, is a perfect fit for her rebel with-or-without a cause aesthetic.

Truly, looking at her stream my first and strongest reaction was if James Dean were a woman.

It’s not the occasional cigarette, either, it’s the stance, the way she poses her body, relaxed, confident, cool, raw, and rebellious.

She has that style, her stance is everything. 

For more from Elise, click here:

 

Should We Feature Primfeed-Only Pics on Cajsa's Choices? And If So, Whose?

To repeat a question I just posted on Primfeed: Should we feature pics posted only to Primfeed on Cajsa's awesome New World Notes column? And if so, who should we feature who's not also sharing images on Flickr?

Background: Historically we mostly only feature images from SL's Flickr community for various reasons (longevity, embed features, etc.), but we also want to highlight the Primfeed's fairly large virtual world community as much as possible.

In any case,  please tag your favorites Primfeed artists in comments so we can follow and/or feature them!

These Six Amazing Second Life-Based Tributes to Don Quixote Totally Don't Tilt at Windmills

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

Langstrath Valley shot “Windmills, Sancho? I see Giants!” which portrays the most famous scene from Don Quixote... I loved the book when I read it in high school Spanish and dragged my friend to see the statue at Plaza de España. I love the book far more than “Man of La Mancha,” the musical. 

Why did I decide to hunt for Don Quixote in Second Life? Chatting on the phone with a friend, I characterized a mutual friend’s action as quixotic. I then wondered why we pronounced quixotic so differently from Quixote. I had my stream choosing music for me based on a Ben Webster tune and, rudely, The Impossible Dream began to play. I have never liked that song. The algorithmic overlords should have chosen Dulcinea. Anyway, it made me wonder about Don Quixote in Second Life. There were some lovely surprises such as Langstrath’s picture that is so true to the story. 

For more of Don Quixote in the Metaverse, click here:

Cajsa Choices: See Why Maloe Vansant is Among My Favorite SL Artists

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

Maloe Vansant has been a favorite artist of mine for years, something I said the last time I wrote about her. It’s as true now as then. Pictures like this are the reason why. The woman’s face is so beautiful, but in the texture of the skin we see the breakdown and deterioration. There are scratches and breaks in the surface and there is a growth of gold daubs of paint, flecks that fleck off, a kind of beautiful decay. The title is “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” and it immediately reminds me of that video that frequently zoomed in on Annie Lennox and her castmates’ faces, but most often on her face. Even without the Eurythmics connection, though, this picture is extraordinary. 

For more of the breathtaking imagery from Maloe Vansant, click here:

Gorgeously Minimalist SL Fashion Photos from Calima Dufaux

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

Calima Dufaux is a Flickr microblogger with incredible style. Her photos are simple, unadorned but for the subtlest of props. A chair, a table, a bit of lighting, plain backdrops, and more form a minimalist context for her outfits. Take this gorgeous picture. She is styled to perfection and resting on a chair, a chair hidden in the dark shadows, but we know it’s there. 

For more of her impeccable style, click here: