Category: Exploring Second Life

Gates of Melancholy – click any image for full size

Newly opened as of Saturday, June 4th, is Gates of Melancholy, the latest regions design by photographer shelly70, and a further piece in her Gates series (see my article on Gates of Memories for a sample of her work cloaked in winter). And like her previous designs, Gates of Melancholy is a visual feast.

“This sim which is based on and inspired from the life and work of the famous American painter Andrew Wyeth,” Shelly says of the design, “is created to emulate and elicit the feel in [his] watercolour paintings.”

Gates of Melancholy

A realist painter, Wyeth (July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) predominantly focused on his local landscape and the people within it, presenting America and the world with a grim, flinty, and often starchily sentimental view of New England. His was a world of empty beaches, windswept, desiccated fields, wooden buildings grey with age, their frames like brittle parchment, and locals with faces as craggy as many a coastal cliff, couple with evocative studies of families and friends. There is, as Shelly states in her introductory notes, a stark nostalgia and melancholy evident in his work, and she has striven to recreate that feeling with the look and feel of the region.

This is a rugged, coastal landscape from which wood-framed outbuildings and chapels rise, wood parched and faded under the unrelenting influence of coastal weather, and where the farmhouses carry a careworn look. The lands around them is a mix of open fields, craggy scarps and rises, where the trees are often bent and crooked as with great age, shapes borne of long years resisting the prevailing winds. The grass is mostly short and tufted, often with the bald, rocky land beneath it showing through here and there before the land abrupt falls way by scarp or cliff. Over all of this, an ochre sun hands in an ochre sky, casting the landscape into a sombre twilight.

Gates of Melancholy

It is, quite simply, breath-taking – although I admittedly opted for an alternative Windlight when capturing the images shown here; there is so much that is evocative of Wyeth’s work. Two examples of this came to me in the form of a view up a grassy slope towards distance farm buildings which immediately suggested Christina’s World, albeit without the central character, whilst a rowing boat draw up onto the grass immediately put me in mind of Teel’s Island, Maine.

Nor is this any empty landscape – there are signs of life everywhere, within the barns, in the houses, and outside under the awnings of little market-like stalls, all offering views and scenes ready to capture the eye and camera. Many of the the building offer the opportunity to sit and snuggle or chat, adding to the desire to visit and tarry.

Gates of Melancholy

Complemented by an audio stream Shelly has taken pains to put together, as well as ambient local sounds, Gates of Melancholy, like Wyeth’s paintings, is not something simply to be seen; it is a place to be experienced and savoured for all of its stark beauty and realism. It is a place, I’ve little doubt, that were his spirit ever to visit, it would recognise and approve.

SLurl Details

• Gates of Melancholy (Rated: Moderate)

Just over the water from her Snuggles brand stores in Second Life, Teagan Parnas has created a little park open to the public to enjoy. Snuggles Forest, occupying a Homestead region, offers the chance for visitors to roam an undulating landscape and dance, sit, share time on the beaches, explore and – as them name might suggest – snuggle.

“Forest” is perhaps too broad a term for the region – there are trees for sure, but these are more woodland in nature and placement, rather than “forest”. So there is no need to fear you’ll be fighting through undergrowth and struggling to see things; the paths are all well-marked, and the sunshine falls as much on open spaces as it does on leafy canopies.

For those wishing to get to places quickly, the landing point offers a TP board – but setting out on shank’s pony is by far the best option. From the landing point on the north side of the region, visitors can head east or west to the Sunrise or Sunset Beach, or head inland and up the central hills, where there are places to sit or enjoy yoga.

The paths themselves lead right around the island, so whether you head east or west, you’ll find your way to most points, and there are plenty of diversions along the way, including the odd curio or two – such as the rock house nestled between the hunched shoulders of the humpbacked hills.  There’s even a Norman church sitting in one corner of the region which, in a bit of a Las Vegas twist, offers automated weddings, complete with personalised certificates, for those who want the efficiency of a DIY ceremony!

For those seeking a place to wander for a while, with lots of little open and secluded places to sit, snuggle and / or dance, Snuggles Forest offers a pleasing location for exploration and relaxation, and a fair few points for photography.

SLurl Details

• Snuggles Forest (Rated: Moderate)

Countryside, Habitat Springs – click any image for full size

In November 2014 I wrote about a Mainland location called The Back 40, designed by Dicky (Dick Spad). At the time, I was enchanted by that discovery; so you can imagine my absolute delight in discovering Dicky has a full region as well, also open to the public (aside from the corner where he has his private residence).

Countryside is every bit as enchanting as The Back 40, offering a fabulous outdoors environment which can be enjoyed through solo exploration or – more ideally – in the company of a friend / someone close to you.

Countryside, Habitat Springs

Surrounded by a rolling landscape created by the use of region surrounds, it’s hard to tell where the region ends and “beyond” begins, which helps give this region a feeling of being far bigger than the 256 metres on a side we’re allowed. Largely flat, the land is naturally divided into a series of areas by the river flowing through the region and the use of broad greenswards, very strongly suggestive of fire breaks to be found in heavy areas prone to forest fires.

From the landing point in the south-east corner of the region, one can strike out north or west, the greenswards offering a choice of routes through the groupings of trees. Head north, and you’ll pass woods and meadow, a fire watch tower and reach grasslands stretching up to the river, on the other side of which sits Dicky’s private residence.

Countryside, Habitat Springs

Head west from the landing point and you’ll again come to the head of the river: a large pool of water fed by a waterfall, where bears fish and beavers are constructing a lodge. Cross the river via with little wooden bridge, and the landscape gradually changes, edging away from the open wilds to a more rural environment with neatly laid crops, fenced  fields and meadows, and a small farm fed by a dirt track, the sidings of a railway spur close by.

It is, in a word, quite beautiful. And that’s really just the start; it’s possible to wander for what seems miles around the region and still come across something new – be it more wildlife, another little snuggle place or a further vantage point ideal for photographs. Do keep an eye out for Morgan Garret’s marvellous little birds, which I also blogged about far back in the mists of time – or December 2013, to be exact. We have a number of them scattered around the island home, and they really are quite fantastic and life-like.

Countryside, Habitat Springs

Back in November 2014 I noted how Dicky’s work at The Back 40 demonstrates you don’t necessarily need a full-sized regions to create something memorable. With Countryside, it is fair to say that Dicky shows us just what can be done when you do have a full-sized region at your disposal, and are prepared to put the time into developing it and its surroundings.

I’ve visited many regions over the years I’ve been exploring Second Life, and all of them have been fabulous in their own unique ways; but I don’t think I’ve been to a region that is quite so natural-looking and well-blended as Countryside.

Very highly recommended – and you can still visit The Back 40 as well!

Countryside, Habitat Springs

SLurl Details

• Countryside, Habitat Springs (Rated: Adult)

Beautiful Suicide – click any image for full size

Beautiful Suicide is an enigmatic region designed by Jaidens Rancid (Jaidens) which has been featured in the Destination Guide for the last couple of weeks, thus attracting my attention.

“Embrace yourself,” the Destination Guide entry reads, “for something has happened here.”  Quite what that something might be, is left to our imaginations to conjure: and there is certainly enough here to get the thoughts ticking over. Cast into a perpetual dusk under the default windlight, this is a place of dark mystery, offering some interesting photo opportunities.

Beautiful Suicide

Everything seems normal enough on arrival; there is even a hint of romance about the landing point. This is a bridge on the west side of the largest of three main islands, softly light by lanterns and fairy lights draped over the branches of the tree on either side of the water it spans. There’s even a hint of mist to add to the atmosphere. But look again, and see how the posts from which the lanterns hang have a hint of the gallows about them; the first sign that things here aren’t always as they appear.

That this is the case can further be found under the bridge, where a great troll stands knee-deep in water. And here too, is something of a conflict: on the one hand, we tend to associate trolls with dark and bad things; but this one holds a gem within its cupped hands, as if offering it to us in friendship.

Beautiful Suicide

This juxtaposition of the safe and friendly with the dark and dangerous echoes throughout the region. On the east side of the main island, for example, sits a private house. within it sit all the signs of a  comfortable home; in the conservatory, a table is laid for a dinner party. It all seems so normal – until one looks up on the roof.

And whilst the nearby ruin of another house might suggest an opportunity for snuggles or a quiet escape from the world, A look behind the stairs or a glance up on to the upper floor reveals this place also has a certain macabre edge, reminding us of the question posed by the region’s Destination Guide entry Where did all the people go?

Beautiful Suicide

But it is not all darkness; the region is, as I’ve noted, quite photogenic, and there are places to be found where time can be spent in idle thought on in the company of a loved one: down on the pier of the inlet, or sitting at the pool terrace alongside the main house, etc. There are even opportunities for a little fun in the form of flying saucer and boat rezzers, allowing visitors to zip through the sky or across the water surrounding the islands.

If you like your visits and / or romance edged with a darker touch, tinted with a drop of the macabre and a drizzled suggestion of black magic, Beautiful Suicide offers a more unusual destination you might enjoy taking a look at. Should you enjoy your visit, as I did, please consider making a donation towards the region’s upkeep so that other might also enjoy it.

SLurl Details

• Beautiful Suicide (Rated: Adult)

{Ville Par La Mer} / Royaume de Versailles – click any image for full size

{Ville Par La Mer} / Royaume de Versailles (literally “city by the sea” and ” Kingdom of Versailles”) caught my attention whilst browsing the Destination Guide. Both a private home (this being located in the north-east corner of the region), and a public destination,the region is the work of Dolly Everleigh Versailles (Dolly Morrisey), on behalf of the Versailles Family. And it is another picturesque region that is a genuine pleasure to visit.

The landing point is a little terrace area in the south-west of the region, where sit little boutique shops – a hairdresser, an ice-cream parlour and a delightful café bar. A pier runs along the south side of the island from here, crossing an inlet to reach the local beach, presenting one of two ways a visitor can start their explorations of the island.

{Ville Par La Mer} / Royaume de Versailles

The other is to climb the steps to one side of the terrace and follow a road as it winds around the island heading west, then north and then back east. This will eventually bring you to the house in the north-east corner, which as noted, is a private residence. However, it is possible to walk around the extended grounds below the house proper, where there are several vantage points and places to sit and / or snuggle.

A vineyard and barn occupy the low-lying centre of the island to the north-west, a dirt track offering a path past them from the foot of the steps leading down from the big house. meandering by both vineyard and barn, the track leads to another series of stone steps which climb up to the broad top of a gorge which cuts from north to south through the region, revealing a hidden treasure below and across the narrow channel of water: a tropical-like hideaway, reached from the main beach by a rocky arch.

{Ville Par La Mer} / Royaume de Versailles – click any image for full size

Follow the grassy walk along the lip of the gorge eastwards, and a natural stone bridge offers access to a picturesque plateau where there are places to set and play Greedy, Greedy, all watched over by the tall sentinel of a wooden lighthouse. A switch back path from here offers a way back down the the beach below.

This is a charming region, with plenty of opportunities for photography and a fair few places to sit and relax, have a cuddle and enjoy the ambient sound scape. If you do take photos of your visit, you are invited to add them to the Royaume De Versailles Flickr group.

{Ville Par La Mer} / Royaume de Versailles – click any image for full size

All told, a lovely design that’s well worth a visit.

SLurl Details

{Ville Par La Mer} / Royaume de Versailles (Rated: Moderate)