EAST / WEST COUPLE
He is from Kars, the Easternmost town in Turkey, sand she is from the West Coast. They met in Kapadokya — Hakim – Penal Judge – Awake & intelligent – I learned a lot while I drew Erdem Bey, a judge from Eastern Turkey — Gamze Kahyaoğlu – Gamze will only improve with age. Great bones!
RAIN ON A ROOF
Rain bouncing off Küçük Ayasofya’s old Byzantine roof like smoke or chiffon——scrawled in the wet dark out on the balcony one night. With Yucel, an artist acquaintance in Tünel.
YÜCEL THE PAINTER
Another take on Yücel in Tunel.
CHRISTMAS DOODLES
At St Antoine’s – 2004 – Blinking Baby Jesus – Tortured Yabanci hair——on the woman in front of me in Christmas service at St Antoine’s Catholic Church up on the Istiklal. In a Christmas tree on the altar, colored Christmas lights blinked violently over the Baby Jesus.
ONE LAST BURAK
Just love drawing him. He’s now settled and successful, somewhere else.
REMZIYE & HER SISTER
White-painted rough brick walls behind glossy rococo Ottoman furniture make a hi-tech surrealistic delight of a room, & in it my neighbor Remziye and her sister and cousin – In Kadikoy, where the sisters have a third restaurant——Remziye was my first downstairs neighbor at my aerie in Küçük Ayasofya. She’d just gone through a divorce, had two young boys, was afraid of mice, and moved after a year. I was fond of her.
KALAMAR SALT FISH
A drawing for an ad for my friend Celal Öğmen’s wonderful fish restaurant in Kumkapi.
THE REAL DEAL
Samra Sael – She’s the real deal – At Kalamar in Kumkapi — A very beautiful Asian TV actress with 6 hours belly dancing training…we all looked at her face—— All these skinny shiny belly dancers with monochromatic costumes, high heels and stiff moves, fooey! Samra danced then all down.
FISH DINNER & BUYUK VALIDE HAN
Have you ever tried to draw food? Not easy but so delicious at Kalamar I was compelled. This drawing of the back of Buyuk Valide Han is the first of many, but I had to abandon this one as it had simply become too cold to draw outside.
KALAMAR SQUEEZEBOX
Another drawing for Celal at Kalamar in Kumkapi.
KALENDARHANE CAMII
c700 CE——Up next to the Aqueduct, this charming Byzantine basilica has been a mosque for centuries. Inside it’s peach-colored plaster with remnants of carved marble and mosaic. I love it.
AIN’T SHE SWEET
She showed up New Year’s Eve at a friend’s restaurant in Sultanahmet. I drew her portrait, but she didn’t like it & left abruptly. A pity, as this picture has inspired many women. One bought a nice print of it, saying “This is exactly who I want to be someday.”
Ygor & Pinkie on the trellis, which once was a bedframe and then a headboard. We miss you, Ygor.
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