I was constantly pushing myself to try new things and longing to have real, deep conversations about art. To be honest, finding people in Türkiye to engage in those meaningful discussions wasn’t easy—art requires depth, a strong foundation, an understanding of movements, and true vision to debate properly.

Around that time in Antalya, I met Prof. Dr. Melih Erdoğan. Melih was an incredible human being. We spent endless hours talking about my work and artistic path. During one of our deep conversations, he told me something that shifted my entire perspective: "Küntay, you are on a great path, but you need to take this somewhere beyond just the cartoon world."

That advice was the spark that pushed me to explore Doodle Abstract.

Tragically, we lost Melih this year. I lost a great mentor, a big brother, and one of my deepest sources of artistic inspiration. He was able to witness the evolution of my art up to a certain point, but I wish with all my heart he could have seen how much further it will go. Melih opened so many doors for me. I will miss you deeply, Melih. I am forever grateful you were in my life...