“A Day in The Life” with Istanbul-born painting artist, Berla

November 2, 2022 Demian Vernieri Arts, Visual Arts

Berla (Berrak Ergul Lajoie) grew up in Istanbul in a family that loves art, nature and animals. She has been painting, drawing and creating art ever since she was a child.

She studied architecture and graduated from Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture. The form of art in architecture always kept her close to other art disciplines. She discovered her interest in photography when she was a student and started oil painting in her early 20s.

After practicing architecture for a few years in Istanbul, she moved abroad and was involved in architectural projects in different countries. Berla met her husband Marc in one of these countries, married and moved to his Quebec homeland in 2013. She loved Montreal at first sight and took many architectural and street photographs during her first years in this city.

In 2017, Berla re-united with her passion for painting; since then working on acrylic paintings, mostly portraits, sometimes landscape paintings. She pushes her boundaries and creativity every day while maintaining her unique and poetic style. When she doesn’t paint on canvas, she paints garden murals, wine glasses, and even furniture. If she needs a break from painting or needs some inspiration, she walks in the park and takes photographs.

-Written by Handan Cagli – Sister

Berla
Here I am working on my latest painting which is part of “ The Effect” series. I can fully concentrate on my works in this quiet and peaceful environment.
Berla
When I was painting “ The Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland” on a wine glass. Glass painting is one of the hobbies I enjoy and it became a small business for me.
Berla
One morning in my studio… I like all my art tools ready and close to me, also my laptop to listen to music and of course a nice cup of coffee to accompany. I decorated the back wall with my favorite photograph prints which give me inspiration and energy to start a new day.
In front of a mural I painted for our patio last summer. My husband and I often miss tropical weather and sea, so I brought them into our garden. I’ve painted three more murals on our property.
Sometimes I rest, take time to appreciate my works, read a book or look for inspiration in a magazine.
A photograph from our last trip in the Maritimes as I was capturing a shot of Lunenburg from the sailboat.
A photograph of my studio located in our basement. We renovated this space ourselves and designated as my “art shelter”. I am happy to have enough room for all my works.
Berla
Standing in front of my painting “The Effects-The Butterfly” hanging on a wall in our entrance corridor. Some of our friends say that our home is like a small museum.:)

Which hood are you in?

I live in Sud-Ouest, in Ville Emard.

What do you do?

I am a painting artist and amateur photographer. I mostly work on acrylic portrait/ figurative but also landscape paintings on canvas, sometimes I use mixed-media technique which helps creating unique artwork. I take architectural, landscape, street, nature and macro photographs.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on a series of surreal figurative, landscape or still life paintings which I titled “ The Effects”. I try using symbols and metaphors on themes such as “Time, Humanity and Life”.

Where can we find your work?

You can find my works in my website, contact me berlandme@outlook.com or find me on Instagram: @berla_art & @ berla_photo.

 

 

About Demian Vernieri 503 Articles
Demian is an Argentinian retired musician, avid gamer and editor for the Montréal Guardian, Toronto Guardian, Calgary Guardian and Vancouver Guardian websites.
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