Beginning 2015 I joined Turkish illumination/gilding course with my wonderful teacher Dilara Yarci. It simply means painting with gold. This requires special gold ink and technique to paint old Ottoman motifs. The complication of the process lies in drawing the motifs first, then at painting them. And one of the rules of illumination is to paint the full pattern with gold first then apply colors to it.
When I first started drawing patterns I discovered a way to draw corner patterns myself. From there it was easy to map the way I want to draw my simple patterns. So when I got into the Ottoman motifs I had a slight idea on the shapes but it wasn’t easy.
From there on, I bought several books to educate myself on how to draw Ottoman motifs. It was so challenging to learn everything myself but after years from reading, drawing, and watching other motif designers I began to know the technique behind drawing a full Ottoman motif.
Visiting Turkey helps with the learning process too! Visiting Camii’s (Masjids) with all of their beautiful patterns and decorations really inspire designers a lot.
In my last visit to Turkey I got to see yet new places and visit new Camiis. It was such a wonderful and amazing trip. Also, I managed to buy the most important tezhib/gilding tool which is the Muhre. This tool is used to brighten the gold letting it shine. And while I was looking at the other art tools in the store ( It’s called Guven Sanat: http://guvensanat.com ) I saw small watercolor palette that most artists and motif designers are using all over the Instagram. It’s really helpful to carry such a set with you anywhere even when traveling. At this point, I can’t seem to leave without my sketchbooks and markers.
Instead of leaving all of my materials behind I’d rather bring small sketchbook, markers, and this new small set of watercolors with me.
I’m posting photos of my pattern designs below. And if you have any question do not hesitate to shoot me an email at any time: anwaar.sa87@gmail.com.
Anwaar 