Sasha Yazov’s Airbrush Paintings Recreate The Sims and Forgotten Game Worlds

Georgia-based artist Sasha Yazov uses airbrush to create screenshot-realistic paintings that capture the aesthetics of late-2000s video games like The Sims, Morrowind, and other life simulators. His work magnifies how people exist inside virtual worlds, exploring old gaming forums for custom downloadable content. Yazov cites influences from Rūté Merk and Alex Colville, and uses airbrush to render digital artifacts such as transparent elements, glows, and low-poly geometry. He describes his style as closer to 'mid poly' than low poly, and emphasizes that his interest lies not in nostalgia but in what people searched for inside games when trying to escape reality. His paintings often feature glitched angles, fan-modified character models, and perspectives that feel like falling underneath the map.