Although I was squashed in between my wife and a stranger on this leg of our journey, I managed this sketch. This lady and two others she was travelling with handed us a goody bag when we sat down…containing ear plugs and sweets (candies), with a card headed “warning” and saying “Hi…I might cry or sing out loud” explaining that he is less than one and thanking us for our kindness and patience…very cute. He didn’t cry much anyway but some of my sweets melted making a sticky mess.
Mon-20-Jul-2026
I didn’t have time to sketch at the airport in Manila before we left for our UK-Montenegro holiday, because a strap on my wife’s backpack snapped at the checkin desk. So we wandered around to find an affordable replacement (definitely not Tumi). After the long flight to Istanbul (12 hours) we had a few hours in the massive airport terminal (which makes NAIA and Heathrow look dreadful), so we found a spot for a coffee. My only grumble about the airport terminal?…nowhere to sit unless you buy coffee or food….which maybe deliberate.
Mon-20-Jul-2026
Here is another long lost sketch from the time I spent working in Turkey last year. This one was done while I was waiting in a restaurant called Timboo Cafe in the Kuzu Effect shopping center, for my dinner. They served very quickly so I added the colour at home.
Tue-13-Jun-2023
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
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
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
I packed up early today, ready to go to the airport and head home, leaving me time to do a quick sketch in my hotel room. The hotel has a great breakfast, so I filled up ready for a long journey of airline meals.
Sat-17-Jun-2023
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
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