Istanbul in Watercolor
It was a beautiful fall day in Istanbul, so my friend and I decided to scamper around Istanbul and paint as many iconic views as possible. Each piece is a bit hurried but still incredibly enjoyable. There is something about an unfinished piece that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Allowing a viewer to fill in the gaps with their imagination is a playful method and being okay with a piece not appearing completely finished is something I consistently find challenging yet very cathartic. To say “no” to perfectionism and “yes” to a more playful and adventurous way of art-making.
Though these are not all of them (some got lost in my phone photos— they may make their merry way onto this post upon discovery), these are the most finished ones of the bunch.
We began our journey by crossing over from Üsküdar (the Asian side) to Karaköy (the European side) on a ferry. Bypassing all potential traffic and chaos and experiencing the beauty of the Bosphorus are incredible gifts.
Once we exited the ferry, we decided to get an iced coffee at the nearby Espresso Lab and sit by the water facing the Hagia Sophia. There we sat in the sun and tried to capture all we could in a mere 35-45 minutes.
Hagia Sophia from Karaköy sahil. This is a view I will never get tired of.
Next, we wandered around Istiklal for a bit before heading to the other side of the Golden Horn. It’s hard to resist wandering around Karaköy once you’re there. I’ve always had the somewhat audacious metaphor for the Galata area: It is as though a Parisian street and the old market of Jerusalem made love and had a baby. That baby was Karaköy. Though perhaps crude, you would understand if you’ve been to Western Europe and the Middle East. The space is such a sweet conglomeration of the two.
After spending perhaps too much time wandering and not enough time painting, we walked to the other side of the Golden Horn to Balat. Balat was a small Armenian neighborhood that has recently turned into a cute tourist hub with vintage shops galore. It is most well-known for quaint streets with clothes lines spanning one side of the street to the other. This is but one little corner that I thought was particularly lovely.
While we were painting away, some young boys were kicking a ball around. One stopped and loomed over me for a few seconds, obviously intrigued. Perhaps he had never seen watercolor before, or perhaps he wondered what on earth I found so interesting about a sight he’d no doubt grown up seeing all the time. After a few moments of silent watching, he turned to me and said, “You know you can just take a picture of that…right?” Haha. Yes, kanka (Turkish for dude), thank you for that.
Balat— an Armenian village with historical rustic charm and a lot of colorful hanging umbrellas. This little corner was particularly eye-catching.
As the day was beginning to come to a quick close, we walked back to where we could catch the ferry to return to the Asian side. It was golden hour, so we knew the sunset was approaching. The sunsets in the West of course, which means the sunsets on the Asian side are objectively the best.
The Üsküdar seaside gets rather crowded in the evening, as temperatures drop and people get off of work. We disembarked the ferry in Üsküdar and immediately set off to get tost (grilled cheese, essentially) and çay (Turkish tea) and paint our last little exploration of the day.
We did get to the tea place a little later than we intended, and the sunset was in its fullness by the time we sat down and got out the painting supplies. We did our best with the limited time we had, and it was a fun exploration! You can see the joyous quick strokes (especially in the sky). We had a lot of fun. I look forward to doing a far more detailed and elaborate version of this view because it’s just outstanding.
This was painted in a been of a harried fashion as the sun was quickly setting. Done while sipping tea on the Üsküdar sahil (seaside).
I am so thankful for days like these— when I can prance around a favorite city with a friend who loves painting places as much as I do. Istanbul is a city of endless layers and so many elements it can be dizzying. In cities like this one, it is all the more important and therapeutic to sit, be, and capture one single scene. To bask in the complexity and deeper appreciate elements that may otherwise slip your notice, and to enjoy just looking at a space that has so much history to it.