Safari gets Picture Perfect

Two stops this week, on Francogrid and then on OSGrid.
Find the HG Addresses at the end of the post, and add your photos of the destinations to our groups in G+ and Facebook, if you'd like! HG Addresses as aways at the end of the post.

First, to Parcdesarts, a region of Francogrid. Paintings and other 2D art is surprisingly difficult to show well in virtual worlds.  But Katia Parcdesarts has achieved something special here.

The landscape suggests an airy oceanside estate, without too many trees or water features to distract from the principal attraction, the galleries, which, even though each represents a very different style of architecture, all come together in a harmonious patchwork.

This week we came to see the art of Em Warden. Based in Sweden, Em's art is all watercolor, but on a range of surfaces, which serve as both the base and inspirations for her creations.

Em Warden, with Katia Parcdesarts to the right.

The Artist Biography says that she began drawing at the age of 4 - well, probably all of us can say that, but not many of us could produce the kind of paintings you'll see in this collection. 

There are several thematic strands in the shabby-chic cabin - the 'Destroyed paper'  tromp-l'oeil group, verging on abstract; the portraits of different racial or national types, a sort of travelogue ranging from Afghanistan to America. Em's talent is even more outstanding whe you remember she is largely self-taught.

By far the largest collection) the charming geometrical people. They cavort in nature, conduct themselves demurely in street scenes, pose for portraits. The geometry invites you to look beyond the human form, and inspect and reflect on human nature. 

Love it all.
The Safari event was further enlivened by a concert and particle show by Torben Asp. You won't see that if you drop by obviously, but the gallery is a must-see, and since the pictures are also copyable, you may want to pick up a couple of canvases for your home in opensim.

Torben Asp particle show

Our second destination is one of the signature regions of opensim by one of its greatest artists, Zia Frimon.

Mad Hatter Club

Zia's name is associated with some of the loveliest original creations in opensim.
How to define it? Perhaps Romantic Steampunk, with a dose of elegant wit. 

scary mouse-man Aime Socrates orders extra cheese on his pizza

Zia's contributions to the vast treasury of opensim freebies are all marked with her motto 'Made to be Shared'. 


We visited Melodie's Garden region, which houses a club called Mad Hatter's, high up on a sky island. 


But before getting to the nightclub where a NPC Captain awaited us (shout-out to Captain Danger Lytton, who hosts this region, and who carefully restarted it for us before our visit), we wandered up and around the region following the path that takes you through the woods to a range of kiosks, shops, airships, and more. 

It's a very relaxing region, and we gathered here and there for a photo-op, and then spread out, enjoying the shopping opportunities, and the splendid landscape. 

Billy Bradshaw shows the way

Then Billy pointed out to us that there was a balloon further along the path. Not just a balloon, a balloon with a piano on board, and room for dancing!

Arielle Delamerlibre dances to Sunbeam Magic's tunes

To complete the bliss, set a night Windlight, touch the balloon, and it floats up up into the sky... *heart-melt*.


HG Addresses:  
Em Warden's gallery................   hg.francogrid.org:80:parcdesarts1
Zia Frimon's Melodies Garden....    hg.osgrid.org:80:melodies garden