74-2396 – Istiklal kulesi

Here is a long forgotten sketch from my trip to Turkey last year (for work). This sketch was done on a visit to Anitkabir on my day off. I think this sculpture is supposed to represent three Turkish women mourning Ataturk’s death. I wasn’t able to work on this sketch for long, as I was told to move along by some security officials – so I added the colour at home.

Sun-11-Jun-2023

74-2393 – ILO winter garden

This is the first sketch I did while I was in Türkiye. After my first day at the office I just had a few moments to sketch out of the window of the office space I was using – what my colleagues called the ‘winter room’ (not the winter garden as I mistakenly titled this). It looks over a lovely green park …what a fantastic spot to work in.

Mon-5-Jun-2023

74-2400 – Last sketch in Türkiye

Of course my last sketch in a country (when I have been on a work trip), is going to be at the airport! This wasn’t the plane I was on, but this was the gate I left from. The plane pulled away half-way through my sketch, so some of this was guesswork and reference to a photo I took. Rule number one when sketching something that might move: take a quick snapshot first!

Sat-17-Jun-2023

74-2398 – Morning skyline

Yesterday I managed to get up early enough to sketch the view from my hotel window before going to work. I am staying in a place on the edge of Ankara, so there is lots of greenery around me (and the sound of birdsong each day), but this view looks back towards the city. The place with the dome is a mall called Panora.

Thu-15-Jun-2023

74-2395 – Anıtkabir

Sunday was my first (and only) free day during my work trip to Türkiye, so I decided to do a bit of tourism and visited Anıtkabir, which is a complex of buildings (including a museum which I visited), housing the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (the founding father of the Republic of Turkey). I did this sketch fairly quickly in the only shady spot I could find.

Sun-11-Jun-2023

74-2394 – Adiyaman view

Here is the first sketch I have managed to finish in Türkiye – a view from the hotel window in Adiyaman. I have a couple of unfinished sketches before this, but I haven’t been able to sketch as much as I usually do because I have been too busy with work, ill with a cold or ill with food poisoning! I did this one in a brief moment (between illnesses) when other colleagues were refreshing in their respective hotel rooms. By the way I have no idea what the big brown strip of land in the middle of town is…not the airport I am sure.

Thu-8-Jun-2023