Painter Kerime Elibuyuk is a story engineer
Hello Kerime! Who are you and what do you do?
I am a full-time, self-taught artist based in Istanbul. I am trying to show the effect of human beings on nature by combining natural color transitions with hard-edge man-made geometric shapes. And I am doing this by making both traditional and digital art.
What was the decisive factor to become an artist?
Since my childhood, I was sketching and painting with many different mediums and styles. Art was always an important part of my life. But my professional journey started firstly as a half-time artist in 2019. I am not sure where it came exactly but I could not resist that highly intensive desire to make artworks in those days. I am in love with art because it opens an avenue for me to think authentic and innovate with ideas and feelings. I do love this process of creating new ways of telling stories.
So now you are working full time on your art?
Yes, I am a full-time artist. When the covid lockdown happened, I have begun to develop my art and create many pieces in a very short time. After the lockdown, I have started to sell my artworks and I had a corporate collector who supported me financially and led me to become a professional full-time artist since November 2020.
Where are you currently in your professional career?
I see myself at the very beginning of my art journey, because I feel that I’ve just started to explore inside of my mind. Ideas come through effusively nowadays. My goal is to find my most innovative voice in art and to reach the most authentic level in geometric hard-edge abstract painting style.
What do you want to achieve with your art?
An engineered way of storytelling I might say 🙂 I like to show people what they see in nature in a different and man-made way. This makes me feel like an expressionist storyteller.
What do you particularly like about your current style?
I do love playing with shapes, lines, and edges since I am a little student. I believe that joy might have affected me to choose to study engineering. And after becoming an engineer, that joy got deeper. So within art, I found myself to be that little child playing with geometric shapes and enjoying it so much while making artworks with those elements.
The most important advice you have learned so far?
Just do it and never quit, the rest will come to you.
What requirements do you need to be able to work in the best possible way?
Peace in my heart, innovative ideas in my mind, any tool in my hand. Anywhere is a good place to make art.
Lastly, what do you do when you don’t have any ideas or motivation?
I didn’t have so much trouble with motivation but sometimes I have so many ideas in my mind that I write them to an “idea notebook”. So that when times like I feel stuck and lose my motivation, that notebook is taking me out of the deadlock. I strongly recommend having an idea notebook to all artists.
Many thanks, Kerime.
Kerime Elibuyuk ★ Artist resume
Born in 1990, Istanbul. She has taken photography classes and begun to improve herself in the art of photography in High School. She continued her education at Istanbul Technical University Chemical Engineering department. In those years, besides photography, she has begun to improve herself in fine arts by attending drawing and painting lessons. In 2015, she’s had a master’s degree in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Imperial College London. Living in London has given her so much inspiration and willingness towards art. But also learning how to innovate with ideas developed her mind on a very creative level that the experience in business school led her to a different career in a very interesting way. After turning back to Istanbul, she focused on her studies on painting. Since 2020, she became a full-time artist and is still continuing her works in her workshop.
Instagram: @art.kerime
Web: saatchiart.com/account/artworks/1656251