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I created a 6-month self-funded artist residency for myself. What did I do over those 6 months, and where did I end up? I read 7 art books. Perspective and Illusions by Phoebe McNaughton The Fraud of Contemporary Art by Avelina Lesper Analytical Painting Studies by Leyla Varlık Şentürk Mark Rothko — Notes to Artists by Mark Rothko Artist Palettes by Alexandra Loske Color Mixing Companion by Julie Collins The Painter’s Handbook: A Complete Reference by Gottsegen, Mark David I

"My Room" 2011, Mixed-techique collage on paper, 34.7x49.6 cm, Öykü Akkoyunlu Davran Like in the biography of almost everyone who is interested in painting and drawing, drawing and painting have been an interest of mine since childhood. It may sound a little surprising if I tell you that my least favorite subject in primary school was art class. Simply put, I didn’t like it because we were always expected to draw the same subjects. Everyone who went to (Turkish) primary schoo

Reflections from the Bardo Museum Recently, I visited the Bardo Museum in Tunis. It was my second visit, seventeen years after the first, and in the meantime, I had changed a lot, accumulated more experience, and developed a deeper understanding of art. Walking through the museum, I was confronted with massive mosaics, intricate floor and wall designs, and countless depictions of gods, humans, and everyday life from the Roman period. This experience prompted a series of refle

My art studio was slightly cool, damp-smelling, and cobwebbed on a May day. I visited it from time to time, but my stays were short; I hadn’t been giving it the attention it deserved for a long while. I was making a living as a designer, and the thought of earning money from painting felt far away. My designer identity demanded too much of my time, effort, and presence. I sat on the chair near the entrance, hoping not to get caught in a spider web. The light inside was not to