I was born in Ankara, Turkey and moved to the United States to earn my PhD in Marketing. I have taught research, marketing, and consumer behavior courses at the University of Oregon, University of Puget Sound, and Bilkent University (Turkey) and conducted academic and industrial research for many years.

As a marketing professor, I have always focused on consumer well-being and happiness in my research and teaching. As an artist, my aspiration is also to improve the well-being and happiness of the viewers of my art. With this in my mind, in my work, I choose the colors and techniques that make me happy, believing that my feelings will be reflected in my paintings/photos and transferred to viewers. Similarly, my inspiration comes from the things that make me happy, often the nature (particularly seas, oceans, lakes), books, music, and my family!

My favorite medium to work with is acrylic paint, often shades of blue and red. I especially love acrylic pouring and crackle painting as they both involve surprises about how they would turn out. Those surprises, in turn, bring me joy almost always. I also love photography, especially taking photos in the beautiful Pacific Northwest nature.