Painting Beside the Porsuk: Nehir Kenarı Şövaleleri
For the past few days, I have had the pleasure of taking part in Nehir Kenarı Şövaleleri, an international art workshop held as part of the International Eskişehir Porsuk Festival.
Artists from Türkiye, India, Finland, Italy, Romania, Egypt, Russia and the UK have come together at Sümerpark (in Kanlikavak) to paint beside the Porsuk. It has been a real pleasure to work outdoors alongside artists from so many different countries, while meeting lots of new people, many from entirely unexpected places.
It’s a new experience for me; anyone who’s familiar with my work knows that I normally paint at the dead of night on my balcony, which doesn’t have a light, in a cloud of smoke and a sea of beer cans. The concept of painting with an audience is quite out of my comfort zone, especially as most of my paintings don’t really come together until just moments before I finish them. I am sure more than a few onlookers wondered what the hell I am up to.
So, as expected, I was a little nervous on the first day and wasn’t sure I would be able to get in the zone.
Turns out I needn’t have worried; that’s a picture of me with the Mayor of Eskişehir, Ayşe Ünlüce, behind me, watching as I paint. Somehow, I managed not to notice the cameraman, who must have been extremely close to me or the mayor, so I guess I made it into the totally oblivious-to-everything zone after all.
There is something very different about painting in public, aside from having to restrain myself from the usual approach of throwing paint from a distance, and having to respect a shared workspace. There is the constant interaction; people kindly bought me coffee and water, engaged me in lots of quite interesting conversations. Some children even asked for my autograph; I’m sure they’ll be getting rich on that at some point in the future (read as sarcasm). Plus, there is light; I can see the colours I am working with clearly!
Although, somehow, as the photo shows, I still managed to completely disappear into myself and the process.
I would like to thank Eskişehir Büyükşehir Belediyesi and the organisers of the International Eskişehir Porsuk Festival for inviting me to take part in Nehir Kenarı Şövaleleri. Especially I would like to thank Şeyma Hançerli and Altan Atak and their team for all their support and hard work.
It has been a pleasure. This event continues for the final day tomorrow….Hopefully, I will finish the canvas before they need the easel and the chair back!
Nehir Kenarı Şövaleleri – International Art Workshop
Sümerpark, Eskişehir
4–6 September 2026
15:00–17:30