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WORLD TALES - MAIDEN WISER than the TSAR

The Maiden Wiser Than The Tsar

A couple of weeks ago John J. Bell of the Al-Bab Blog suggested we make a short and simple video of one of the tales in the book World Tales.  The tale on which the video short is based is "The Maiden Wiser Than The Tsar".  We put together the short video in less than 10 days.  I will blog at another time about the different stages of development from agreeing characters to final editing. This video will be entered into a competition for illustrating tales from the book.

A few of the initial and final sketches are shown below:

Pre-Final Face of Maiden

Final Maiden

Final Sketches (Before Colour Addition)

The Tsar

The Old Man (Maiden's Father)

Some of the sketches are featured on my website where prints can be purchased ( inARTelFEN )

WATCH/LIKE THE VIDEO THE MAIDEN WISER THAN THE TSAR

NEW Work for HALLOWEEN "Masked"

NEW Work for HALLOWEEN "Masked"


Painted today October 31, 2012 (Halloween) is my latest work titled "Masked".  It was drawn/painted with oil pastels and chalk on an 8"x24" piece of wood.  Due to its odd dimensions (I used the same for "iPortrait" ) what is available for prints on inARTelFEN is the face or the main feature of the work.  I am showing below the actual full painting so visitors to my website can see and better appreciate the whole work.

Masked (The FULL Version)

New Work - iPortrait

You can take a photo of yourself with your cellphone and it is usually very unflattering and you can see it almost instantaneously.  This work is a tribute to all those ugly self portraits out there and is, I think, rightly titled "iPortrait". The painting was completed today and was done in less than half an hour with oil pastels and chalk on a 24" by 8" piece of wood.  I personally prefer the result of the slower (but still quick) low tech approach to self portraits (see earlier posting of June 17, 2011 Self Portraits)

by: iPhone

by: Artist

What do you think?

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Follow me on Twitter @khourygroup to learn of inARTelFEN's new artwork, art contests, art events, and items of interest in the world of art, design, and architecture.

I Have Opened Up My Archives

I have been sorting through some of my old stored artwork for the past few days, and I have finally uploaded some of the drawings, sketches and watercolours to my website inARTelFEN .  Check out the Drawings and Sketches Gallery as well as the Paintings Gallery to view some of my old artwork.  Enjoy and let me know what you think (good or bad).

FREEDOM

FINAL: Last Supper The Reunion

The Final Work: LAST SUPPER THE REUNION

After many hours and changes the final work is presented above.  Details are clearer if you link to my website and view it (Last Supper The Reunion).  A synopsis of the symbolism is also presented below at the end of this post.


The pics below are from various final stages of the painting process:

Details from these stages are also shown below:

The Brooding Devil

Pensive Disciples

Saint Mary on the right

Jesus in the centre and Judas on His right

The LAST SUPPER THE REUNION is a melange of symbolism and art media. The "Reunion" includes Jesus and the 12 disciples and also includes 4 women (Saint Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus\' two sisters Mary of Bethany and Martha).  Bottom Left on the Floor is the Brooding Devil.


The three paintings in the background?  They are vintage M. G. Khoury (The Trinity Series - See Paintings Gallery).

The concept is based on the REUNION OF THE SPIRITS around the ROCK/CHURCH and the Symbolism of Jesus\' Blood in the colour of the Rock/Table. St. Peter and St. Paul are Seated/Fused to the Rock/Table as the Two Pillars of the Church with God looking over everything. The Face of God in the Truss at the top of the painting is the same as the Face of the Christ in the centre point of the work.  The Three Zones (Black Sky, Blue Zone and Black Ground) also symbolize the Trinity, or, as some have interpreted the work, symbolize Heaven, Hell and Purgatory inhabited by Souls or Lights or Stars ... this is left to the viewer.

The media has been layered and then peeled back to reveal stages of the work, and suggest an old look to contrast the modern look of the gathered.

Painted in 2011/2012

Progress on the LAST SUPPER THE REUNION

On January 23, 2012, I posted starting work on another Last Supper.  The work is evolving and I am posting a few pics of the progression of the concept and work:

The Framework for the Physical Space with Jesus' Face as the Centre Point

Places please everyone . . .  Gather around the Table and let's start this session

The Concept of a REUNION OF THE SPIRITS around the ROCK/CHURCH and the Symbolism of Jesus Blood
St. Peter and St. Paul are Seated/Fused to the Rock/Table as the Two Pillars of the Church

Basic Background Colours
The Face of God in the Truss above is the same as the Face of Jesus in the Centre
Bottom Left on the Floor is the Brooding Devil

Stay tuned for more pics.  Hoping to finish this work before Easter.

New Work: LAST SUPPER - The Reunion??

In 1989, a commission of the Last Supper entitled LAST SUPPER 20th CENTURY was completed and sold.  Lately I have had 2 requests:  one for the purchase of the 1989 work (which the owner is not willing to sell) and an inquiry on commissioning a similar work to the 1989 painting shown below.

Last Supper 20th Century

I have started to work on the concept of what I envision to be a Reunion of sorts and to possibly give the future work the title "Last Supper The Reunion".  Since I cannot afford to pay models for this work, I have resorted to the cheap world of fashion and glamour magazines.  The initial mockups are shown
below.

Notice that the grouping includes models for Jesus and the 12 disciples and also include four women (Saint Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus' two sisters Mary of Bethany and Martha).  I will be posting the progress of the work as it progresses and, as usual, changes along the way.

Notice the three paintings in the background?  They are vintage M. G. Khoury (The Trinity Series)

Keep you posted!

Catalan Jesus

The National Art Museum of Catalonia (Museu Nacional D'Art De Catalunya) houses a large collection of Romanesque art from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries and is comprised of mural paintings from Romanesque churches of the Pyrenees, painted panels, woodcarvings, metal work and stone sculpture.

One of the collection's most inspiring and original wood carvings is the Batllo' Majesty shown below:

ANONYMOUS

Batlló Majesty

Mid-12th century

• Carving in walnut (head and body), willow (right arm), elm (cross upright) and holm oak (cross arms) with polychrome in tempera.
• 156 x 119.5 x 20.5 cm
• © MNAC - Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
• 015937-000

I stopped to admire this cross and was fascinated by the vivid colours of the robe and the cross.  I knew that one day I would attempt to draw or paint a work that would remind me of this experience.

Knowing well that the process will lead me to the final work, I started "the path" ...

Station 1:  The Photo Archive

Station 2:  Doodling Over

Station 3:  The Sketch

Station 4:  The Colours

Station 5:  The Mood

Station 6:  The Work

CATALAN JESUS

The drawing is done with oil pastels and charcoal on archival quality watercolour paper (11"x15").  The original is for sale at this time, and fine art or canvas Giclee' prints (framed or not) are affordably available through my website (www.inartelfen.com). 

SOLD - Cotton Candy at the CNE

A few weeks ago, I sold the original sketch of "Cotton Candy at the CNE" done in 2011 from an earlier image (1989) of a cotton candy vendor at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) Fairgrounds in Toronto.  The sketch is of the vendor in front of the Princess Gate entrance to the CNE Fairgrounds. Colours highlighting the sketch are a prelude to the feast of colours behind the grey entrance.

The original sketch was bought by an art collector from Spain.  I thank and wish the buyer many years of enjoying this work.

Giclee prints on museum quality paper or canvas (framed or not) are available through my website www.inartelfen.com 

Cotton Candy at the CNE by Marwan George Khoury

Framed by The Framing Depot


For other images photographs, paintings, digital art etc.) of the CNE visit MY TORONTO fine art group.

Honourable Mention for "Chubby in Dreamland"

The story behind "Chubby in Dreamland" was posted back in April 2011  (See Posts of April 6 and 8, 2011).  The painting was recently entered in a juried contest entitled "Faces of Interest" sponsored by OUR WORLD GALLERY Fine Art Group.  Although the jury did not select it as one of the top three works, "Chubby in Dreamland" nevertheless earned itself an Honourable Mention in the Paintings category among a total of 346 entries.

Jury member, and gallery administrator, Lenore Senior stated the following:  


"CONGRATULATIONS on your Honorable Mention in the OUR WORLD GALLERY group contest, "An Interesting Face." There were 346 entries in this juried contest. This image gets a vote & fave. Excellent work! [On a personal level, I have to tell you there was something about this painting that moved me very much.]"

I know for a fact that a few people share Lenore's sentiment about this work, and I sure do.

Congratulations CHUBBY! and thanks to the jury members.

Chubby in Dreamland by Marwan George Khoury

SELF PORTRAITS

Since the 1980's I have sketched, on occasion, a number of self portraits, in the hope that one day I will have the time (and courage) to produce a decent work which I can call My Portrait.  Those who visit or have visited my website www.inartelfen.com , are aware of the two pics I have used on and off on the site and which I show below.

The first one is a photo taken by my son when he was 10 years old, and the second is based on the same photo, but shamelessly promotes my website and this blog.




I think this summer I may attempt a self portrait based on one of the following three sketches or a combination thereof.  Maybe  blog readers can help me on this by commenting on this posting or sending me an e-mail through my website.

This self portrait was for sure sketched in 1985 in Montreal, Canada.  I am wearing my favourite shirt and watch, sitting on a couch watching TV (partial view in top right corner) and sketching Myself Sketching??

The hands merge into the sketchbook and the sketch itself and what I can see are my black pants which I have put on the paper inside the paper??

I personally like this one, but it may be too personal for others to understand its full meaning to me.

This pen sketch was done, if I am not mistaken, circa 1992 or 1993, in Toronto.  I have show part of it here, as I am yet to decipher some of the calligraphed French and Arabic words that were attached to the portrait.

I think this is a start for something that may yet lead to The Portrait.

This last one is of a more recent vintage, and if my memory serves me right, has to be from the early 2000's.

I like it because it reminds me of the doodles that covered my notebooks and books in both high school and university.

I still doodle sometimes and this one looks interesting especially after I added some basic colours to it at a later date.






I hope to hear from some of you, and meanwhile, I will start thinking about it, and maybe commit my portrait to canvas or paper later this year.  The three sketches above are NOT available at my website (www.inartelfen.com).

FATHER'S DAY

To all the fathers out there, a very Happy Father's Day.  For the occasion, I am posting a special painting that is a tribute to my father who is always there for me.  I gave it the title "Generations", as it also included one of my grandfathers.

The painting is based on an old photo from the mid 1960's (1965 or 1966) which was taken at a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in the city of Tyre in Lebanon.  My aunt's house was built at the breakwater and I remember standing there for hours looking and listening to the waves crashing at the foundation walls below.

The painting started with a black-painted canvas, over which a chalk and oil pastel preliminary sketch was done highlighting the main memorable elements of the scene (blue wooden shutters, wooden caned chairs, and the essential balcony tables); and the characters (I am the child in the foreground with my dad; at the red table is a great uncle; and at the far end is my maternal grandfather).

The question at this stage was whether to go with solid colours for the elements and characters or to change direction.  Although I liked the photograph's brightness, I was also attracted to the darker mood of the work at this stage.

The other question was what to do with the faces.
I was fond of the way they looked now, but wasn't sure yet.

At this stage I let go of the painting for a few days during which I would look at it and try to visualize what it may end up being like (something I tend to do with a lot of my work and which I really value in the creative process).

Generations

The end result almost resembles the image at the left in which I tried to brighten the colours and hint to some of the light in the original photograph.

In the faces I used the colours from my memories of that time and place and in the father/son faces as a symbol of the bond and the continuation of the "Generation".


HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

MY SHOW AT THE COPPER FLAME FINE ART VIRTUAL GALLERY

DO NOT FORGET TO VISIT THE COPPER FLAME VIRTUAL FINE ART GALLERY

Some of my artwork will be exhibited between June 13 and June 19, 2011 at the Copper Flame Fine Art Virtual Gallery (Show 5).  Hope to see you all there (virtually of course) and we may also be able to chat live.

Check out the Copper Flame Gallery before, during and after the show for some fine works by many artists.

The Story Behind Trees with Balls

This is the short story version of Trees with Balls.

Once upon a time, in the cold winter of 2011 in a neighbourhood not too far away ...  there was a house with a tree, and the tree had balls.

 
Someone wanted me to draw this tree with balls in a stylized manner, and she gave me a rough sketch of what she envisioned . . .

So I spent some time in my messy studio . . .

And I came up with some awful trees with balls . . .

And some not so awful ones which I was audacious enough to feature on my website
( www.inartelfen.com ) . . .

Tree with Balls 8

Tree with Balls 5

Tree with Balls 4

Tree with Balls 3

She did not like any of them . . .   and I may still, one day, draw one she likes.

THE END