I traveled to Turkey a few years ago. One of my favorite things about Turkey is the multitude of ancient ruins. I spent one day during my weeklong stay in Turkey in the ancient city of Ephesus. Ephesus was built in the 10th century BC. Ephesus once boasted several impressive examples of Roman and Greek architecture before it was reduced to ruins. I was inspired by the idea of imagining what this city once was during the 10th century and how the ruins still embodied the character of the place. It was important to me to capture the character of the ruins in Ephesus and the affect the centuries of weather has had on the architecture. I used pen to detail the edges of the ruins. I also used pen to emphasize areas of deterioration. The warm grey and tan colors of the stone contrast nicely with the cool blue and green colors of the background. I painted the stones a warm color in an effort to represent the ruins as lively and communicative of the former character of the city, even though the buildings are not in use anymore. I was inspired by the idea of a character of place extending beyond time. In this painting I captured the current condition with the living nature in the background, while acknowledging the past condition with the ruins. The juxtaposition of these elements creates a dynamic art print that will look great in any room.