"Every one of my paintings is a new branch of my life tree - that strengthens me," says Zehra Özyüksel in her invitation for her first personal exhibition. Her work will be on display from February 22 to March 2 at Hikmet Çetinkaya Resim Atölyesi & Galeri at Cinnah Caddesi, 21/10 Çankaya, telephone number 312-426-7330.
She started painting in November 1997. She remembers the day one of her friends took her to Hikmet Çetinkaya Resim Atölyesi & Galeri. That was the first time she held a brush and tried her hand at painting. The Galeri's instructors were amazed and impressed by her freestyle painting and she has not stopped painting since then.
She has a collection of 36 paintings that will be displayed and most of the them are impressionistic/freestyle landscapes. Ms. Özyüksel started working as the Director of the Women's Dormitory 90 on East Campus in 1995, just after retiring from her post at Hacettepe University. Although she studied geomorphology at Ankara University, she worked as an administrator all of her life and now she is very happy with the young women at the dormitory and her leisure activity, painting. "Painting and students are my two loves in life," she says.
