Chim Chim

No paintings today.This is about my long haired yellow cat Chim Chim.He was sitting on the table next to my monitor yesterday and I remembered how I took him home from street three years ago.He was in a terrible shape.The vet found a small chicken bone stuck in his mouth preventing him to eat and clean himself properly.

After three years of love and care he is still a spoilt big baby!

So this is my Chim Chim from the day before I brought him home ,three weeks later and three years later.

Big Sister

My exhibition is officialy over but my paintings are still hanging at the gallery.As always during and after an exhibition I've stopped painting and it is a bad thing I know.When I see a photograph My friend Esra took in Peru I decided to do paintings based on it(with her approval of course),it was beatiful.I painted two.

Here is the picture and my paintings which are both 35x50cm in size.The neck of the girl at the LHS may look thick in the small image.Hopefully you can see it properly when you enlarge it that there is a pencil line which make it look as it should be.

Pics from my Exhibition

Last night there was opening reception of my fifth solo show three of them being in this same venue.I had a problem with my camera so I'm posting only photos I managed to take before the reception,which are not very sharp. Not so great turnout but still 2 paintings were sold so I'm happy that my outlay has already been covered, more expected later as before.

Some of the paintings are from my last exhibition six months ago,as it was in Ankara I included them here too.

The lady in photo manages the gallery.

An Invitation!

All invited to the wine&cheese party at the opening reception of my new exhibition!

This will be my third solo exhibition at the same venue and will be fifth in total .

My Upcoming Exhibition

It's embarrasing that I haven't updated my blog for so long.My excuse has been that I've been preparing my show.

Here are some of my works I did recently.Some of them will be included in the exhibition.Sorry that I've no time to add details of each painting.Soon after the opening!

Bodrum

I 've just returned from a 7 days Bodrum trip.Our small summer house needed some repair and paint job done.The weather was not very favourable but at times when sun comes out it was beatiful.

I shot this photo from on the floating pier recently constructed.

Three Recent Works

I did these this week.All are 1/2 sheet size Hahnemuehle paper with Schmincke colors.

Another Lone Fisherman

This is a closer look:

I did this one yesterday.It is a combination of my own reference photos .The paper is 1/2 sheet (50x35cm)Hahnemuehle Torchon 275 gms.I used Schmincke UMB,Turquoise Blue,Burnt Sienna,Cad Red,Neutral Tint and a few colors from White Nights.

Link List

I finally have started adding links.A very belated act!
I'm hoping to add more and organize them properly soon.
Thanks to those friends who have already had my link on their blogs.

Rescuing A ship? Well Nearly...

The first shot I took recently through my window with a hope that a painting might come out of it.

The second one is the photo of the same coaster the day before yesterday .There was a very strong southernwest storm coming from the sea that day.I later read in the news that over open sea the storm had reached a speed of 100km/h,it was probably around 70km/h here. When I was watching the storm from my window I noticed that ship's prows detached from the dock and while she was tied up at the stern the prows was getting dangerously closer to rocky shore.Either the prows hawser was broke off or she was dragging the anchor.She was about to crash on to the rocks.I wanted to see the event and I was there in five minutes by the car.There was no one else around-no fools wandering around in that weather naturally.The man on board asked for help and tried to throw me a guide rope.Voice communication was impossible because of the noise of the wawes and wind.After repeated attempts failed ,I managed to grab the rope while I was soaking wet with rain,heavy spray and wawes coming over the pier.I pulled the guide rope with difficulty which was tied to a very heavy hawser and finally able to get the hawser over the mooring post at the end of the pier.I can say this wasn't an easy work with the risk of slipping and falling down into the sea. Then they tried to draw the prows towards the pier by means of a capstan.This was again not an easy work against terrible wawes and wind.I couldn't stay there any longer because I was getting very cold.I returned home,peeled my wet clothes off (even my underwear was soaking wet) and took a shower.I took this photo on my return.Many hours later they managed to secure the ship mooring at the prows.Today the ship looks safely moored in the quiet sea.

It was a very wet adventure,something definitely expected from a wet on wet artist!

When I asked my wife if she saw me doing this through the window she said she wasn't looking ,she was busy in the kitchen from where she could see me in the distance.She said that I was a funny man!

I am still waiting for an inspiration from this event!

Recent Work

It's been a while since I last posted.I've been preety inactive recently and done only a couple of small paintings,nothing serious really.

First one is a very quick,spontaneous piece I did on the back of a scrap paper,no prelim drawing while playing around with colours..It shows stains already on the paper but they somehow fit the scene.I kind of like its simplicity.35x30cm paper unknown!



This is a redo of an older piece sold in the last show.Size around 1/4 sheet.

This I did for a challenge in a forum elsewhere.Again 1/4 sheet size.Ref photo by Stephie Butler

Watercolor on Oil Canvas?

Erenus Gallery in Ankara asked for paintings on 30x30cm canvases for a group show called "Art in Squares" and I joined in with two paintings done with transparent watercolors on regular stretched and treated acrylic/oil canvases!

Being a purist at heart I couldn't have imagined myself doing this but as advised my friend Nicholas Simmons one has to concentrate on being an artist not a purist!

The first painting is a study on gessoed paper as a peparation for the other two done on acrylic/oil canvas.Bahadır Gökay from the gallery who also is a fine artist sealed(with a brush while I held my breath!) the paintings with a special mixture he uses for his paintings.It contains bees wax,turpentine and a stuff unknown to me.It gives the paintings a very nice sheen.

Pictures From The Exhibition

Kına ,beatiful daughter of my dear friend Yurdayol,who lives in Ankara

WOW,it was exhausting!I went to Ankara the same day of the opening and came back the same evening(I mean arrived here in the next morning!)
The opening was nice with many people attending,not too many sales but more expected later as some were reserved.

The tall and with less hair gentleman in the third pic from the top is Canadian Ambassador to Turkey Mr Mark Bailey who bought a small boat painting.He says it reminds him of his homeland.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

An Invitation!

Towards an Exihibition!

This week I've been painting towards an exhibition at the end of this month which came up suddenly.Last week I've been invited to exhibit in a gallery in Ankara in replacement of an artist who dropped out.As it is in another city I will be able to exhibit my works previously exhibited in Istanbul plus some new ones but I still need to paint a few more.
This is around 40x60cm but will be cropped to half sheet size 56x37cm to fit an available mat and frame.Turned out to be more colorful than I intended.The bright red spot at the rh side is not that bright IRL. May try this with a different palette as I'm not very happy about it.Hahnemuehle Toscana 200gsm with Schmincke colors.
It is based on a reference photo by a friend ,Melissa Fischer,with some artistic license.

Larissa

This is Larissa,Nicholas Simmons' beatiful daughter.Nick is an online friend and artist from Wetcanvas .He kindly gave permission to post my painting online.
I had immediately thought to do a painting of her when Nick posted some pictures of his family last year.I finally got around to do it today.It is on 1/4 sheet size Hahnemuehle Torchon 275 gms paper.I'm kind of beginning to like this paper for portrait work(see my "Ceren") .It gives a looser effect if you work wet on wet.As usual with my portrait work of small children she looks older than she is but she is hopefully at the age now she looks!

Big Ben my Way

As I mentioned somewhere below,I was in London Area last Spring.Been to London for only a couple of hours and only took a quick tour mostly looking for an eye shade(sleeping mask?) and a fragrance for Canan,my wife(the C here like in Ceren pronounced like J BTW).

I didn't take any pictures in London but was marvelled again by the glowing intricate details in architecture of the House of Parliement and the Clock Tower mostly referred as Big Ben .It was a great sight under the afternoon sun.

This painting is based on a photo I took in 1985.

It is on half sheet ,50x35cm Britannia.Usual Schmincke colours and Quin Gold from W&N.

Ceren

As I didn't much like the undefined areas in her neck I made some modifications,hope it looks better now.

Ceren is my niece.I took the reference photo many,many years ago.She was a beatiful child.

I did this yesterday on a Hahnemühle paper,I don't know the name,Torchon maybe? It is 1/4 sheet size(25x35cm).It has a different texture from my usual Britannia.

Variations on an Old Sketch

A small imaginary sketch I did and saved in my hd couple of years ago inspired me yesterday to do a redo in a more serious manner because I like the posture of the main figure.I cannot remember the size as I can't locate it now.I wasn't entirely happy with my first effort yesterday so I did another one. First one is half sheet,second is 30x50cm,third image is a close up.

In the Woods

I just did this.The reference is a slide of mine taken many years ago in Woodstock US.Its 1/4 sheet size but I don't remember the paper brand,Bockingford maybe?

W&N and Schmincke colors:UMB,Cerulean Blue,Quin Gold,Permanent Rose,Lemon yellow,Burnt Sienna and Cadium Red.

Fishing in Piece Series

I spent the last couple of days doing these small pieces just to keep my brushes wet.All done on 1/4 size paper.
My reference was a slide of mine taken many years ago in Olympos ,Antalya.With lots of artistic license the scene turned out to be a completely different place with different vegetation and climate.

Fishing in Piece series continued

This was the last one.I don't know why I continued to paint the same scene again.In the end I'm afraid the first one is still the best?

A thank you !

I have realized that I haven't individually thanked some of those who have posted comments here.So a thank you is in order now to each and everyone of you for the comments with nice words .

Thank you everyone.

Resting in Peace II

This I painted yesterday.As I couldn't locate my original slide I relied upon my below painting for details so it had to be very loose!

It is 35x50cm Hahnemuehle Britannia with W&N and White Nights.

Resting in Peace

...after retirement in their final days in the sea.A sad scene showing two veteran cruisers leaning on each other looking weary and worn out.This painting is dated 1987.It is based on a photo I took circa 1974.Back then I used to paint small watercolours 2-3 a year.Very few survived.It seems it has traces of my present loose style.

It is 20x25cm

The Girl From Madagascar

This is one of my recent works ,well maybe not so recent,say couple of months old.A small piece done on 1/4 Hahnemuehle.Based on a photo which my friend Esra took on her recent trip to Madagascar.It is my first effort on a coloured skin portrait.