Off into the Sunset

This sweet painting seems to me an appropriate way to close this tribute to Arif Buz. It hangs in my “kitchen gallery” in Istanbul (which explains its frame). I bought it from Arif when I met him during my 2019 visit to Ayvalik. Its bold colors, the jaunty pace of this older woman with rolled-down stockings, and her adoring dog—while not depicting Arif’s beloved horse-cart drivers—reflects the affection he obviously felt for all his neighbors. Like Arif, they are walking off into the sunset.