When I returned to Türkiye after completing my Fine Arts degree in Milan, I was honestly searching for the right path to follow. At first, I took on digital marketing and graphic design work at my family's talent agency. However, that wasn’t enough for me; I wasn’t feeling creatively fulfilled. I wanted to test myself in the advertising world, and after two brief experiences at boutique agencies, I set my sights higher and knocked on the door of Rafineri, one of Türkiye’s top advertising agencies.

They initially told me they didn't even want to take me on as an intern. But I didn't give up—I found a way in. Out of a sea of interns, I was the last one standing and got hired as a Jr. Art Director. I ended up taking on demanding projects across 7 different sectors—tasks that other art directors avoided. It meant sleepless nights, non-stop hustle, and immense effort... Then I was told that since this was the best agency in the country, I had to win awards. I didn't even know how to win an advertising award back then, but by working around the clock, I figured that out too. The campaign I designed went on to sweep awards across every major advertising festival in Türkiye. I had finally proven myself.

Yet despite all the labor and achievements, I wasn't receiving the financial or emotional validation I deserved. When I asked for a modest raise and received a flat refusal, it was the final straw. I made up my mind, closed that chapter, and handed in my resignation.

The very day I left the agency, I bought a massive blank canvas. I set no sketches in front of me, no preliminary plans, and no pressure to prove anything to anyone. I just drew freely for hours, exactly as I did when I was a child. It took me over a month of non-stop drawing to finish that piece. I healed all my frustration, disappointment, and agency burnout purely through the movement of the pen.

I named the artwork "Tony." Around that time, I had a deep fear of dogs, and a dog named Tony helped me overcome that phobia. At the same time, the symbolic connotations of the name "Tony" in American pop culture perfectly captured the spirit of what I had created. Drawn without an eraser, in a state of continuous flow, "Tony" is more than just a painting to me—it marks the exact milestone where my Doodlism philosophy and artistic freedom were born.