Istanbul Colors

The above painting was done by a new friend of mine, who happens to be quite famous around these parts; his name is Ahmet Fazil Aksoy. We met on Easter Sunday early in the morning as the church gathered at one of Istanbul's most scenic parks with a great view on the Bosphorus. He was up on the hill catching the moment on his canvas. Across the Bosporus to the right is a silhouette of Hagia Sofia and the blue mosque crowing the hills of the golden horn, to the left the Asian hills of Kadikoy. Follow the water between these two scenes into the mouth of the sea of Marmara, round the Princes' Islands and top it off with a chain of mountains edging the horizon and far side of the sea. What a view! Ahmet has traveled the world during his painting career of 30 years and he believes Istanbul is the most scenic city in the world. You'll have to come and decide for yourself. It's hard to catch on camera but his paintings do quite a good job. He has a website - click on WORKS to see nearly 300 of his paintings. Consider leaving him a comment saying you are a friend of mine. http://ahmetfazilaksoy.net/v3_plt/platin.aspx?platinID=33&section=1&lang=ENG That morning I was privileged to watch him paint for over an hour while he instructed me on what brands of paint, what size brushes, and type of canvas to use. He also gave me numbers for his friends where I could buy discount supplies. Then we made plans to meet again so I could learn more. To my surprise he called me the following Thursday early in the morning and said - I'm over at the park if you'd like to come watch. We had the best time together - as he painted and talked about his trips in the states and I sat on the back of his white mini-van. I had the biggest smile the whole time as I couldn't get over how personal God is to build me up like that. I love to do oil paintings - but it has been so long that I have forgotten how. I don't know if I'll paint again but it was so much fun to think that God may touch this man's life. Pray for him, perhaps there will be much more to the story.
Jediah