The Book of 365 Daily Drawings by Esra Kizir Gokcen: ART FROM WITHIN

Limited Edition of 365, all signed by the artist.

Soft cover with flaps, 480 pages, 148x210mm, 1100gr.

This book is the visual diary of an artist for a year-long drawing challenge during the Covid-19 lockdown.

"...With the Covid 19 lockdown, like everybody else, I was unable to make the 40-minute train journey to my studio. I had to find a sustainable way to keep my art practice active within my limited circumstances. This led me to use sketchbooks more and gave me the idea for this project. 

I thought, if I committed to a structured project and shared it on social media regularly as an invitation to all, I could help to build a healing art community. I chose drawing as my preferred technique because it is the essential for all visual art forms and is possible to achieve with simple and affordable materials. I also offered drawing tutorial videos for people who were interested in improving their art skills. The first days of the challenge were mostly built around this concept, giving samples of observational drawings with a touch of wit. 

...Rather than a normal approach of creating my works around a single concept, my daily theme has changed according to my mood and personal agenda of the day, because one of the very important aims of this project was the bravery of being open and feeling the healing power of art through that openness.

Many people joined me in sharing their drawings on social media; many more followed and encouraged me all through this challenge. I shared their drawings in my social media stories and in a featured video of this journey, which can be found on my website."

Says artist Esra Kizir Gokcen for her book.

Reviews of Art From Within

Take a close look, and in getting to know her better, you’ll see how, through its noble dedication, her intuitively-detailed, intimate work can take you to different places, of other possibilities.

David White / Art Mag UK

Esra Kizir Gokcen draws inspiration from nature, including trees and clouds, that become spiritual guides, dots and marks in the paper transcending the mere representation, and delving into their divine nature. The drawings become portals for fantasy and daydreaming, yet rooted in a collective unconscious of social dreaming and collective questioning.

Beatriz Acevedo
 / Creative Oracle, Artist and Educator

... Suspended between despair and hope, loss and light, natural and spiritual. Feathered wings arch from a strong heart – pulsing for all those hearts that stopped, beating for all those that remain. Delicately balanced, a poised aurora, reminding us to tread more softly on this earth – to float above our carbon footprints, lest we make them deeper.
... a solar system in an A5 sketchbook. Re-trodden footsteps, repeated journeys, circular walks. A rhythm imprints itself within the rhythm – a drawing a day: meditation, inspiration, communication – survival – the garden awaits.

Ralph Overill
 / Artist Writer, and Researcher

To say this body of work speaks volume is an understatement. It's a year’s journey into the life of this multi-talented artist, who shares so freely throughout, revealing her intimate emotions, growth, and connection with nature.

Renee Rilexie
 / Artist, Curator, Art Therapist, Co-Founder of The Artists’ Pool