frida

Oh be still my thunderous heart— Frida, in Istanbul! This is the very first time that the work of either Frida Kahlo or her husband, Diego Rivera, has ever been shown in Turkey. Over forty pieces from the artists are currently on display at the lovely Pera Museum until March 20th. Do not miss it!

light through a straw hat

Tilly hadn't been to the Botero exhibit (and if you haven't, hurry up— the show ends on the 18th of July!), so we sauntered down Istiklal towards the Pera Museum to swoon over the luscious curves and colours of lovers and circus clowns. We stopped along the way for a quick lunch at Helvetia in Tünel. For a mere ten lira, you get to sample five mouth-watering dishes on display from about a dozen. I went with lentil patties, or mercimek köfte, meatballs, a carrot salad, some simmered greens and mücver, a vegetable fritter. Two lavish dollops of yoghurt, and I was in heaven.


As we wandered through the gallery, we fawned over brush strokes of cadmium yellow and red, impossible pinks and greens. With our minds spinning, conversations ran from travelling to crushes, to those fleeting moments in life that can be called nothing but perfection: the first sip of tea, lying in cool grass, the light filtered through a straw hat over your face while dozing in the sunlight. Life is full of these small, seemingly insignificant moments, and if we take the time to notice and appreciate them, our life is coloured a little more vividly.

In a little over a week, I'm off to Nepal— a place I've dreamt of since I was a little girl. I'll be volunteering at a school for a month, living with a local family. There will be little to no internet access, which will provide me with plenty of time to catch those light-through-a-straw-hat moments, in a place that seemed only possible in my wildest of dreams.

Wide, fearless strokes, precious details, and a vivid palette.

beautiful botero

I've never wanted to jump into a painting until yesterday.

I've never wanted to run off with a painting until yesterday.

I've never wanted to meet an artist I admire until yesterday.

Mr. Botero, if by lucky fortune you ever read this, I would love to have a coffee with you. I don't want to talk about anything in particular, I just want to share a cup and watch the light change with you.

the sensuality of a line

Picasso is not one of my favourite artists. I appreciate his work, but it doesn't make me weak in the knees. I did however, unexpectedly find myself swooning over his linework at the Pera Museum's exhibition of his Suite Vollard engravings, which sadly ended this weekend.


My goodness, would you look at those curls and hatches! So sensual and beautifully simple. I must admit, I fell in love a little in that quiet gallery. There's a raw sexiness to those lines— I can't get them out of my head. I contemplated the depth of my ink and held my pen differently today. I've tried my hand at etching and loved it— I think there's a wonderful harmony between etching and pen and ink. Being without printmaking supplies, I'll just have to entertain myself in the meantime with my vast collection of nibs and inks (she types with a grin)!

This heart pumps ink.

meeting chagall at the pera

Down Istiklal Caddesi, past the Galatasaray Lisesi, you'll find a passage called Odakule on your left. If you walk through it to the other side and take another left, you'll run right into the beautiful Pera Museum, which this month, is home to a most marvellous collection of Marc Chagall etchings, drawings and paintings.

I find so much joy in staring at and absorbing the work of a favourite artist— wondering why this line, this colour, what he or she thought, felt, how their eyes saw. Chagall is one of my top three; the colour, movement and life in his work bring tears to my eyes. There's only one artist who managed to get them rolling down my cheek, and that was Vincent Van Gogh— specifically it was his Wheatfield with Crows. Ever since I stood in front of those waves of cadmium and ochre, that bluest blue, I have struggled to find words to describe the experience. I was fifteen years old, and I felt the world and my world, sway and soar in wheat and wings.

The Chagall exhibit at the Pera consisted mainly of his etchings and drawings, which naturally thrilled me, as I love a good line. There were so many India ink drawings I wanted to get photos of, but with super-reflective glass protecting them and the guard eyeing my camera, I only managed to get these close-ups. Which are pretty fantastic.


I must say I enjoy the Pera's permanent collection quite a bit— there are some lovely oil and watercolour paintings of Ottoman daily life, and a wonderful exhibit of Anatolian weights and compasses. I highly recommend finding and wandering through this little museum, then having lunch at one of the many nearby restaurants in the Tünel area.

Here are some favourite parts of my favourite paintings: