Another Beer, Please!

I've started to draw some people from the pazar and such. They are just that; drawings. My next step is to do quick sketches. It's been a while since I've focused on sketching, so I feel I've lost a little of my knack (if I ever had one).

There's been lots of Turkish studying, more eating (as you could have guessed), thinking about adventures outside the walls of the house ('business' first, adventure second), and the last bit of unpacking.  Oh! I also started an oil painting today. Might be my first in 5-6 years!

It appears there is a location just down the street, along the bay, that seems to constantly host late-week/weekend events. There was a stage set up last night, large blocks of freshly carved marble, and what Erdem labeled as "Turkish food trucks." The "food trucks" were not all quite set up when we saw them. They were basically white vans with makeshift propane stove tops extending out the back of the trunk.  Do van's have trunks? I don't know much about van terminology. They were just dirty white vans. Some of them even had ișkembe çorbası rotisserie (turkish tripe) built into back of the vehicles. At the time we saw all these neat things were running so we had no camera. I'm sure we will be seeing something like that again. Maybe even next week if we're lucky! 

Sewing Okra

Today I intended to bring my camera to the pazar. I wanted pictures of the people (and the gypsies). It's fun to see the "grocery cart" (aka. rolling basket that chinese women mow your feet over with in San Francisco's Chinatown) enter the pazar empty and come out swelling with fruits and vegetables. Some of the veggie tables are run by 10 year olds who scream out their wares in high pitched girly voices. They will yell in your ear if they have to, but it's fun to laugh at them since they don't understand english and the entire experience is fun. I appreciate their aggressiveness. It makes the pazar a unique place. You can find so many things at the market; fish, seasonal fruits n veggies, nuts, seeds, olives, cheeses, eggs, pickled goods, pastry doughs, fresh breads, tomato pastes, clothing, kitchen equipment, and much, much more. Of course those are things that can typically be found at the markets in California, but in Turkey, it is completely different. How could it be the same?

What the pazar really stimulates is the Turkish version of a sewing circle. That only happens upon the return home, though. Sometimes I want to dive in and other times the frustration of language barrier simply makes me want to hide.  Sometimes it's just as interesting enjoying it all from the sidelines.

Ink Experimentation

I've decided that I really, really enjoy using pen and ink for sketching. I have a load of nibs I've never used and the sensation of dragging a nib across paper while the metal tip spreads open and catches the fibers, has always reminded me of nails on a chalkboard. This is exactly why I've avoided it.

When I took character design with Dan Holland, he brought in his wonderful sketch books, filled to the brim with sketches that could inspire the least artistic person to draw. My most favorite of his sketches were done with pen and ink. This is why I began to experiment with the little nibs that lived a lonely life in a little box on my desk.

Here are two little pieces I did today.

The Shooting of Dan McGrew

I was mildly inspired by the characters from the poem, The Shooting of Dan McGrew. More than anything, I wanted to find inspiration from Art Deco architecture. I ended up spending most of my time cutting art deco-esque patterns into rubber stamps. Some of the stamps you can see in the colored, female sketches. I rushed my final piece, which ended up not having quite the same appeal as the character designs below. I should, however, take nice pictures of the stamps. That is where the real project development can be found.

30 Sketches

As you might have guessed from the posting title, there are many more than just this one. I will eventually take pictures of the ones I like best and post them. For now, I thought this one was pretty funny. I sat and watched a few of my favorite tv shows for inspiration. This one in particular came from Parks and Recreation. Bert Macklin, FBI (aka, Andy Dwyer).

70's Game Show Host & Contestant

Edible East Bay Magazine, Spring 2013 Issue

 These might not be the best splices of my illustrations from the article, but they serve their purpose. The magazine cover is not mine, but is included for identifying the issue.