Breakfast

Students of mine invited me to a breakfast at Sile Balikcisi, which is a few minutes away from my apartment. There we spent about 2 hrs this morning.

The restaurant is on the beach and in the sea partially. Here are some pictures:

Waves

The weather had been surprisingly good until Friday. It was around 10C (50F). Then, winter finally came. Apparently, it snowed a bit but I didn't see any snow in Sile. What I felt and saw is the wind, a bit cold 4C (35-40F), and amazing waves at the Black Sea.

While watching the waves from my balcony, I decided to paint it online -- while watching them. I did it, I guess. Though, my intention was a bit different than what I had at the end. Enjoy!

Psycho the Cat

Beril has a cat, a toy actually. When she introduced it to me, she said its name is Psycho, a bit weird for a cat, I know. But Psycho is a really lovely cat.
Psycho accompanies me when I have breakfast and dinner, if I am at home. It says good night and good morning to me almost every day. It sometimes waves its hands to Beril when we are on Skype :)
It is more beautiful than as depicted here.

ps. go away Evil Eyes! :)

The lion (2)

How beautiful this animal is! I love it!

ps. Beril told me that this painting is a little bit depressive, like, the lion in a cage. I don't know. Maybe. But, I really enjoyed doing it :)

Two close-ups:

Portrait 1 (Elf)

I haven't been pencildrawing for a long time. I am planning to have a few portraits in the near future. This one is just completed:

Darkness inside out

I have been working on this painting, Darkness inside out, for a couple of days now. Here is its story:

Last holiday, I stopped by Mephisto, not Goethe's Mephisto :) but a chain of bookstores, in Kadikoy. There I was sitting alone, looking for something to spend time on. I then pencil-drawed several things, see one of my previous posts.

A few days ago, I had time to start a new painting. While I was looking for an idea to begin with, I remembered where I sat in Mephisto. Now that I completed the painting, I felt that it doesn't look like that bookstore :) Anyways...

A few photos are the following. Note that the painting is a little bit darker and disproportional on purpose than it looks in the photos:

A few close-ups for interested guys:

If you wanna see, the very beginning of Darkness inside out, here are two photos:

your dragon

   (to Beril, from Engin)

I am your dragon, golden and black

dark and bright

cold and hot

I see the nature

of your mind

of your body

of your heart

My princess

in front of you

I bow

Seclusion

Let me say this, it was a wonderful day while I was working on this painting, Seclusion. I was listening to the Battlestar Galactica soundtrack, which is fantastic. Seclusion is neither related to the show nor the music, though.

When I started working on the composition, I was planning to have a very dark background, a black tree, a person sitting, and a fire. The fire was going to be the only light source with the exception of stars here and there. When the figures began to emerge, I wanted to receive Beril's ideas about it. Then, I showed it to her on gtalk and skype. She couldn't see the figures clearly. The tree, for instance, was so dark.

Yesterday night, then, I started working on the tree from scratch. I wish to have it luminous. I hope I could give that impression. Enjoy!

Here are some photos including close-ups.

ps. From my facebook status: "I have been listening to Battlestar Galactica soundtrack while painting called 'Seclusion'... loved it... photos will be uploaded tomorrow :P" 

close-ups:

Trees

Some of you may have already realized that I like trees. My wife, Beril, recently shared a beautiful photo of sky with stars and trees. That photo provided me a base to work on. No, this painting is not a copy of the photo - you can check it here. It took me two days to complete Trees.

I think and I hope Beril likes this painting.

I am adding two photos of Trees. The second one is from a side angle to get rid of some reflections.

The light in darkness

I was about to name this painting as the moon, the sea, and the darkness, but changed my mind and made it light in darkness. Then, I googled this phrase which resulted in many hits such as a light in the darkness,  the light in my darkness, and so on. Should I name it a light in your darkness :)
Anyways, I didn't work on this painting in a depressive mood but in a hyperactive mood. Not manic, though. I hope you can see some stars here and there in the painting. I also hope you enjoy to see reflections of the moonlight.

Two close-ups:

Starbuck

Remember Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica, of course, the new version? She has been obsessively painting a scene. While I had been watching the show, I had planned to copy her painting. Then, I forgot about it. I had a lot of energy this weekend, which led me write a book proposal, complete a research grant proposal, and start and complete two paintings: Starbuck is one of them.

A close-up:

Dark Tower

I know I know there is no tower in this painting. It just reminds me Stephen King's Dark Tower, the only books I have read by that author. That's all.

Self-portrait / The Lion

I think this painting is almost complete. So I am posting it here.

Yakamoz

Bonsai

Apparently I had started a painting on the 15th of November. While I was unpacking, I realized that I didn't complete it. Here is its final version:

Follow this link to see its unfinished version:
http://enginsrefuge.blogspot.com/2010/11/bonsai-and-skyred.html

#63 (The Blue)

#62 (The Sun)

This is my 62nd acrylic painting!