Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Sketching in Karaköy

Tucked in amidst the paint stores and fishing equipment shops of Karaköy is Rüstem Pasha Caravanserai.  After discovering this place I made at least 4 trips to the location to work on a sustained sketch.  Rüstem Pasha is now a working han, although it used to house travelers on the silk road.  

I love finding spaces like this in Istanbul...spaces that would be closed to the public or marked as "private property" in any other city.  But in Istanbul, I can always seem to wander in, sit on some box or abandoned chair and begin drawing.  No one tells me to leave or that I am not allowed, but instead I become part of the environment... along with the han workers, cats, stacked up boxes...the sound of clinking metal and drills from the workshops below, and seagulls in the sky. 




Gabrielle Reeves "Rustem Pasha Han" Mixed Media on Paper, 2014

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Amasra

The sketches are from Amasra which is a Black Sea town at the North West Cost of Turkey. The name is coming from Amatris who was a Persian princess. The above view is the lefthand side of the old harbour.

The panaromic view of the right hand side of the old harbour.