By Kayly Iali
Xirana
Oximoxi (Nuria Vives)is a mixed media artist though trained in
classical realism, she explores all mediums; constantly learning new
ways to express herself in different ways. She is one of many real life
artists who brings her art into second life. Her work is exhibited in
various venues in major galleries throughout Second Life. Exhibited are
series of Xirana’s portraits, children’s books, and mixed media works
that were produced.
Xirana works from photos as well as on
location...it depends on the subject matter. With landscapes she would
start sketching outside, then take a photo and finish the work in the
studio. With abstracts, she allows the painting inspire her.
Xirana
is inspired by the old masters, Munch, Pollock, Soutine, Picasso and
especially Goya as well as Monet and Turner. Her greatest influence
would be her grandfather who also was a painter and a photographer but
had died when she was very young. Also, Xirana gets help from going to
exhibits and reading art books.In Second Life her favorite artists are
actually 3D artists such as Meilo Minotaur, Mistero Hifeng, and Rose
Borchovski.
Xirana
started to exhibit in Second Life just for fun by renting a small
gallery. Then as she found herself exhibiting in more galleries it
became a way to create more art. Some galleries have a policy to change
exhibits every three months more or less.So,in Xirana’s own words, “...
so, it was kind of a way to think, what can I exhibit next! (smile)....
and it is a way to share what you do ... sometimes more people will
visit your exhibit here than in real life.” She had found the pressure
to change exhibits affected her real life art, too.Some of the galleries
that are exhibiting Xirana’s art are The Galleries, La Maison D’Aneli,
InterstellART and Artists United Gallery.More collections of her works
can be found at Time Lost Art.
One of Xirana’s projects in
Second Life as well as in real life are her children's books; she writes
and illustrates them. A friend suggested that some of her drawings
would be perfect for children's books. She researched in public domain
for stories but ended up writing her own. A course in illustrated
children’s book was a great help in getting started in writing and
illustrating children’s books.
Aimed
toward ages 5 to 7 years old, Xirana’s first story was about a little
mouse and his adventures. One of the adventures was Minu exploring a
river but accidentally falls in. To rescue himself he grabs a chair as
it flowed down the river. Minu encounters an old man who takes Minu in
to live with him.
Xirana has since then written 10 other stories
including a family of hippos and a girl named Amanda. Xirana describes
Amanda as a curious character, open to learn and willing to help
friends. She had written and illustrated five other stories relating to
her adventures.
In Second Life Xirana’s children’s books are in
exhibit at The Galleries and her gallery in Jubata. At The Galleries,
Georgiana (180, 109, 48), a 3D setup of her book “The Heroes in Face
Masks” can be viewed. Delightful paper sculptures and collages of
animals and little children dancing on papered ground. At her gallery at
Jubata (131, 245, 99), there is a slideshow of “Amanda and the
Ladybug.”
Xirana’s children books are available on Amazon (
link) and her own website,
http://mynicebooks.com (in which a donation can be made for a free downloadable book). Lots of her books are in some educational platforms in schools.
Xirana’s
advice to new artists who wants to exhibit in Second Life is “My advice
is that here all is possible...No worries about galleries, to create
your own is very easy...”
To see more of Xirana Oximoxi’s art visit her website at
http://nuriavives.com/. Xirana sells her works in her Etsy shop at
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NuriaVivesArt.
In real life Xirana’s artworks can be found in Spain and France. Also
noted is her fundraiser, “A Pencil for Ghana” at her blog (
link).
Kayly Iali
