Second Life Exhibition Brings Me to YouTube

Ah, technology! I opened a beautiful exhibition of landscape oil paintings at Holly Kai Estates in Second Life yesterday. HondoMesa Kidd (Dennis Kinsey in real life, a professor at Syracuse University and owner of the independent record label Hondo Mesa Records) provided the music with truly passionate, wonderful renditions of blues and/or rock music. The collection of paintings I'm showing depict some of the environment that surrounds me here in Puerto Rico, in this case, lots of beach and coastal scenes.

Nber Medici, co-owner of this lovely golf, sailing and flying sim uploaded an HD video of the gardens with my art work showing and of Hondo playing one of his great tunes. Take a look! It will give you an idea of why I find life in Second Life to be so fascinating. The clip is titled "Art in the Gardens, June 10, 2010"

http://www.youtube.com/user/NberMedici

Life is good.

New giclee reproductions available

Just uploaded 2 new images to Fine Art America, available for reproduction. I did the paintings after spending the day up in El Yunque's Caribbean National Forest with Robert and Vicky Leedy and Lou and Mary Posen. It was such a great day, wandering the trail down to La Mina Falls. Both Robert and Lou are accomplished painters, so it was fun looking at the forest with the same "eyes" as my artist friends!

In and out and about

One of the things I love best about the virtual world Second Life is the people I meet from around the globe and the opportunities that arise from our paths crossing. A friend I made in world, named Juanita Duharo, is an Australian who owns a book publishing company in SL. We met when her company sponsored a virtual book design competition with the University of Western Australia, who also has a presence in world. She was kind enough to visit my recent exhibition of paintings "The Ceremony Trees" at the Angel of the Mysts gallery. She then wrote a little bit about it in her blog, Virtual Treeline. When things like this happen, I realize the cycle is complete. I brought my paintings in to Second Life to exhibit, someone from the other side of the planet saw it and wrote about it in her blog, bringing the exhibition back out in to the real world via a blog site and now people on the other side of the world have met me. It's not just a game, my friends!

My work in print

I recently affiliated myself with the fine art website, Fine Art America, for the purpose of offering a LOT of my work as affordable, fine art giclee reproductions. It's a great website because you can choose from a current selection of almost 50 images and have them printed to a size and surface that makes you happy! They do it all and deliver it to your front door.... from my easel to your house! How cool is that???

Here's the link to my page on the site:
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/monica-linville.html

So how can I have two lives?

I got involved in Second Life after reading an article about an artist in the Boston area who used it as a marketing tool for his work. What I discovered was a world of opportunity for visual artists to share their art with the world. Unlike a website or blog, which are both great but static, this virtual world allows me to meet you, talk with you, personally take you to my galleries.... and allows you to get to know me and what I have been trying to accomplish through my painting.

It is at times hilarious, it is at times bizarre (EVERYTHING you see in SL is straight out of someone's imagination) but it is ALWAYS intriguing. Most importantly, it is the future.

I have 2 galleries (The Aries Gallery SG and The Aries Gallery STNY). I also exhibit my paintings at special exhibitions around the world. I will be teaching a real life painting workshop in February as well. All this to the global market from the comfort of my mountaintop studio. My work has always been about connections, so it only follows that the connections I am able to make through this virtual world is in complete keeping with my vision.

Life is good.

Do Not Forget Haiti

Haiti... there by the grace of God go we. We are all connected. Please.... they are helpless. Send help.