Monday, August 25, 2014

Rooftop Sketching

One of my favorite places to sketch in Istanbul, is from the top of an old han, tucked away between the Grande Bazaar and Eminönü.   The view is unparalleled, and no matter how many times I visit, I always seem to find a new composition or point of interest.  The building is also full of fantastic workshops, where men are constantly at work creating metal springs, shaping hats into place or dying buttons gold.  

I have been drawing in this building for 3 years, and have started to feel completely at home when I find myself on its archaic rooftop, gasping at the 360 degree view of this beautiful city.

"Rooftop Sketch" Mixed Media on Paper, 2013



Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Aktopraklık archaeopark



I spent a couple of days last week in and around Bursa with my wife and son.  We visited a friend of ours from Istanbul University: Dr. Necmi Karul who has been excavating a neolithic/calcholitic site at Akçalar, Bursa.  Dr. Karul is also creating a wonderful Archaeopark in the region not only to tell youngsters how prehistoric man lived 8.000 years ago but also to give impressions of rural ethnographical life.  This aquarelle depicts a "çatma ev" built by Yoruks of the region 150 to 200 years ago.






























Monday, August 4, 2014

Between Gerede and Kizilcahamam

Today when going from Istanbul to Ankara, instead of the motorway, I took the old road which is also very good and not crowded. Especially the forests between Gerede and Kizilcahamam are very nice and invites for making sketches. It was so relaxing; different type of trees with all the varieties of green, a Thermos of tea and the sound of the brook and birds.