An Expat Romantic Artist

Ali "Lee" Shahroudi is an Iranian American artist who currently resides in Istanbul, Turkey. He is also a friend and a former colleague having taught English as a second language with me at the now defunct Interlang language school which was located on Istiklal Caddesi ("caddesi" is Turkish for "street") in Istanbul. A Turkish journalist wrote about Istiklal in this rather morbid but true post in his blog last week: The Avenue of Chaos and Life .

But getting back to my friend Lee. I did not know that Lee was an artist until an evening in mid-March when I was about leave Istanbul to come back to the states. While we teachers were hanging out at the school waiting to collect our pay, I learned from Lee that not only had he majored in art, but he has also had some work on exhibit in Europe. The picture above was taken while we were waiting around at Interlang. Lee mentioned Germany in particular as a place where his work has been exhibited. I was very surprised by Lee's revelation because I had minored in drawing and painting at The University of Georgia in the 1980s. I did not develop my talent like Lee has done, but I still draw from time to time. Nevertheless, the desire to paint and draw is buried inside me waiting to come out in full bloom if I can ever get into the right relaxed mood and in a beautiful enough location that can inspire me. Places like Europe are excellent for writing and art.

A couple days before Thanksgiving, Lee e-mailed me with his new website showcasing some of his art: Expromantic. Lee says that his art is a combination of the Romantic and Expressionistic styles. Much of the painting I did as a university student was Expressionistic too. I used to love using very bright and lively colors. I had not taken up a paint brush in years until 2005 when my both my grandmother and her son, my uncle, were dying. I decided to relax my mind and try to escape for a few hours by taking a painting class.

I really like Lee's work. When I learned that he was an artist, I was very curious to know what kind of painting he did. When he sent me his website, I was honored that he thought enough of me to share his talent. His work is indeed Romantic and Expressionistic.