The Human Canvas - Smaugy in Istanbul

Istanbul...Arsah - again, THE place to go if you're in the area. For me, among other things, it was also a great place to draw on people. I really didn't think I'd be doing any Human Canvas sessions while in Turkey...but one night, I ended up doing three.

Meet Mehmet.

The previous two pices that night - a Sun on Ha and a whirling dervish on Heena - were by request. Mehmet didn't really care...he just wanted to be a part of the experience.

So...I relied on something familiar...

...while trying to incorporate things I'd learned on other drawings.

So...once again...

Here be Dragons!

Some detail...

...and a background...

...And there we are.

Now...here are all three from that night:

Left to Right - Heena, Ha, and Mehmet.

Thanks to the three of you...

...And thanks to Mehmet AND Huseyin - for allowing me to do this in their store. As well as the next two...done a day or two later.

Please check back. And for the beginings of these adventures, click on the tabs near the top of the page for "The Human Canvas - the begining" and "The Human Canvas II - 2011".

The Human Canvas - A Whirling Dervish in Istanbul

So...while in Turkey recently, hanging out at Arsah - THE place to go in Istanbul, I was able to do 5 Human Canvas sessions during the week we were there...three of them in one night...one after the other. I had just finished a large, old-fashioned Sun on Ha, while her friend Heena took photos. After I finished, they traded places - with Ha picking up the camera, and Heena sitting down to be the next canvas.

This was a nice surprise - as she was hesitant at first, AND Ha's piece took about 40 minutes.

Heena wanted a whirling Dervish...

Not really abstract...

...but not really keeping in the confines of strict realism either.

So this session was really cool...

...somewhat spur of the moment...

...and not knowing what the image would be...

...until just before we started...

...and going from there.

This one went rather quickly.

Quicker than expected, actually.

Maybe ten or fifteen minutes later...

And Done. So now here's Heena AND Ha.

The next session started about ten minutes later. We'll see that one next. Please check back. Also, to see the beginings of these adventures, go to the tabs near the top of the page - "The Human Canvas - the begining" and "The Human Canvas II - 2011".

The Human Canvas - Here Comes The Sun

Well, I went to Turkey recently...great art, food, architecture. AND - I spent a lot of time at Arsah - THE place to go in Istanbul. Arsah is an antique store, specializing in carpets...but really, it's just a great place to hang. Huseyin, Mehmet, and Musa make you feel at home...and always great people - from all over -  walking in.

Curiously, visitors to the store often ended up asking why I might have 30 Sharpies with me. Take for example, Ha.

She heard the story, and was up for a session.

After trading shirts with her friend, Heena, we talked about what she might want.

In this case, it was a bit of a trial run...

...for a tattoo she wanted...or at least wanted for a couple of days.

She didn't have any pictures.

We just talked about the image...

...the kind of sun you might find on an old map...

...Or perhaps on a horoscope.

So...I had room to play...

...and just try to recreate something from the mind's eye.

We just knew that we wanted kind of a serpantine flow to it. She loved it, & wanted it signed before the final photo.

So with that...

...Done!

So...once again...meet Ha. Post-Sharpie.

And now meet Heena. She took the above photos...

And then became the next canvas. We'll get to that one real soon. 

It's a good'n.