This week's blog is written by Sue Dunlop
One of my favourite things is shopping for art materials. In fact, I think it's a favourite of all of us in the Collective, so meeting up with Joanna and Sarah was a perfect way to spend a morning, as none of us would discourage each other from spending a small fortune. I don’t think Annie and Ali would either, but both were out of town.
Who can resist the beautiful colours of the paints and brushes that are so soft to the touch. We're very lucky in Bodrum to have two excellent art shops directly opposite each other. They are tucked away in one of my favourite little backstreets, right in the centre of town, at the side of the fish market; Ali Baba Street. ‘Ali Craft’ is an Aladdin's cave where every visit you stumble across unexpected treasures, all manner of crafting materials, alongside the more standard art supplies. Gold leaf shavings... wow... you can expect to see these in my next paintings. Ali, the owner, has a wealth of knowledge about all that he sells and has a wonderful knack of selling me more brushes each time I go in there.
‘Zeynep’s Art shop’ has an equally wide range of canvases, sketchbooks, paints etc as well as a framing service. Zeynep Cavus, the owner, is an excellent artist in her own right and really understands what artists are looking for when it comes to art supplies. Her gallery next door, where the work of local artists and famous Turkish artists hang side by side, is also a great meeting place to sit and have a glass of tea, a catch up with artist friends or a natter with Zeynep about art. Even the local street cats come in to chill.’
