“A great fire burns within me, but no one stops to warm themselves at it, and passers-by only see a wisp of smoke.”

 ~ Vincent Van Gogh (from letter no. 155 to his brother Theo, June 1880)

I just came across this remarkable video and had to share it. It shows Turkish artist Garip Ay recreating Vincent Van Gogh’s enchanting The Starry Night on…wait for it…water. 

Ay creates his masterpiece using the traditional Turkish method of marbling called ‘ebru’ – in which art is painted on water before being transferred to paper.

In order to make such a feat possible, tragacanth, a natural gum, is added to the water to thicken it and insoluble paints are used.

The piece is just as dreamy and darkly brilliant beneath Ay’s skilled fingers, who then proceeds to create an exquisite portrait of the tormented artist himself.

Check it out!

P.S. Garip Ay has his own blog and YouTube channel if you want to learn more and have a look at his other gorgeous creations.

P.P.S. If you’re passionate about marbled paper, have a look at Italian luxury stationery brand Il Papiro. Their journals are pretty expensive, but you could just do what I do and buy a single sheet of their paper to wrap a generic exercise book in!