Captivated by Istanbul

By Austin Lopez 

Whether it is making friends at cafes, seeing historical structures, visiting museums and galleries, or creating art at Mimar Sinan, the residency here in Istanbul has created a source of inspiration in me that could last a lifetime. 

Just for an idea of a typical week, I will describe this week so far. 

Sunday I had the usual çay (tea) at a cafe and made a new friend there after I had sketched him. Later that day I went to the palace and harem of Istanbul, which is exquisite.

Monday after our day at the studio, we went to the Grand Bazaar and did our best at bargaining there.

Today we visited Hagia Sophia and were amazed by the architecture and grandness of it. After our visit to Hagia Sophia we met with our New York Academy of Art visiting professor and artist, Leonid Lerman. Leonid viewed and critiqued our current works and later visited a few galleries with us.

 

Tomorrow we will visit a few more galleries and museums after our studio hours.

Each day here is so different from another!

Next week is the last week of our residency and we will spend it at our host, Ali's house in the beautiful island of Büyükada.

Though our residency is nearing its end, Jaclyn, Tatiana, Simon and I can easily agree that Istanbul is a captivating city we feel grateful to be in.