JUNE 13 to JUNE 19 SHOW at the COPPER FLAME Fine Art Virtual 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.

HAPPY EASTER - Last Supper 20th Century

This Easter I thought I would share on by blog an old painting that was commissioned and painted way back in 1989.  It depicts a 20th century version of the "Last Supper".  The work is a mix of mediums/styles and included (if I recall correctly) pencil, oil pastels, acrylic paints, possibly crayons and I also used masking tape in the ceiling (painted over). The faces of Jesus and the Apostles are based on Pietro Perugino's "Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter" (1482) of the Sistine Chapel fame.

The "Last Supper 20th Century"  hangs in a private collection in Vancouver (Fans of Somerville Kitchen would know it well).

Enjoy, and a Happy Easter to all.

LAST SUPPER 20th CENTURY By Marwan George Khoury (www.inartelfen.com)

NEW DOMAIN NAME www.inArtelFen.com

First, special thanks to ComputerSquad for their quick setup of the new domain.  If you have any computer system troubles or are launching a new website contact Patrick Wong through their website:

www.computersquad.ca 

As of today, you can link directly to my website through the new domain:

www.inArtelFen.com

Chubby in Dreamland

The chubby sleeping boy painting is finally finished (or so I think) and I entitled it "Chubby in Dreamland".  The middle phase looked something like image 4 below (see previous post for images 1 to 3) which is a bit like "Piggy in Dreamland".

IMAGE 4

To see the final work in detail, link through the title above or below.

CHUBBY IN DREAMLAND

Coming Soon to inART elFEN Online Gallery

The images below are of a work is in progress and I will post new images as the days go by.  I am thinking of a few titles for this work: "Chubby", "Sleeping Tubby",  "Chubby Tubby" ??  I am excited to see how the painting turns out and whether it will still look anything like the starting point "Chubby".

IMAGE 1

IMAGE 2

IMAGE 3

Mystery Revealed

If you read the March 8, 2011, post, you know that the "mystery" relates to the "Maine Woman" painting.  Well, here is the true identity of the "Maine Woman" and the transformation that followed:

c 1984 Pork Avenue Productions, Portland, Maine
Photography and Design by Nina Carter 1984

Transformation resulted in the sketch below and then came "Maine Woman":

First Sketch

Final Work

The secret is out!

The Secret of "Maine Woman"

The true identity of "Maine Woman" has always been somewhat of a secret never divulged to dear or near. In a few days I will be revealing her real identity for all to know. Yes, she is NOT Leonardo's Mona Lisa for anyone to care, but she tends to grow on you as the people who have known her for more than a decade can attest to. So stay tuned.

WHO IS SHE?

Nude I (2011) and Nude II (2011)

From 1992.............to...................2011
Initial sketches on the left,
Final sketches on the right.
I like them all
The first sketches took a few minutes,
And the final ones...
A couple of hours.



Nude I  and
Nude II

SOLD - Finger Painting

I am happy to announce that my "Finger Painting" work was bought by an art collector from Asia.  I am also happier that all proceeds from this sale were donated to "Impact First International" , a charity that strives to eradicate poverty through micro finance, health and education.

SAMRA - O Childhood Dream 2011

Back in 1984, I took an elective Arabic literature course at the University California at Berkeley.  My professor, Dr. Munah Khoury, had published an anthology of Arabic poetry which included one of my favourite poems by the Lebanese poet extraordinaire, the late Saeed Ak'l.  In Arabic, it is entitled "Samra wa ya 7elm el Toufoulee" (Brunette O Childhood Dream). I copied the words and later in 1985 or 1986, recopied them as shown below and decided to one day do something with the words.

This year I have been going through the piles of sketches and sketched ideas and I finally got to do something with the poem's words.  My idea first developed into a profile within a profile, with the Arabic words of the poem's title following the contour of one of the profiles.

Then, I tired juxtaposing the old sketch and the two profiles but the result was messy.

My last trial resulted in the final sketch that you see below ( Samra at my website) shown below.

I am not sure if colour is needed, but for now grey indian ink will have to do!

My New Website inART elFEN

I have setup a new website within the artistwebsites.com domain managed by fineartamerica.com 

The URL address is  http://marwan-george-khoury.artistwebsites.com

It is similar to my webpage at FineArtAmerica  but allows for additional options to list unlimited number of artwork while providing all the print on demand options as on the other site.

Both sites are synchronized, so visit either or, and you will view the same work all the time.

Tribute to C. Brancusi 2011

Three years ago I came across a statue at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto, by the French (born Romanian) sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957).  I made a quick idea sketch on a scrap paper and kept it in my scrap book (see below).

I always knew that I would paint it one day and I finally got to it this week.  I liked the contrast between embrace (oneness) of the actual sculpture and the dichotomy of the sketch and I decided to do it on 2 panels.  I had two 6"x6" Aqua boards, so I went with water colours.

The final work was highlighted with poster paint in bright colours and as I describe it in my webpage,       ( Tribute to C Brancusi by Marwan George Khoury ) it is a kiss, a hug, and the calmness in the eye of the storm (raging background colours).

The work can be framed separately:





or in unison.  Enjoy!

BROTHERS 2011

This photo is circa 1964 showing myself and my brother at our childhood house's main entrance.  My older brother is waiting for the school bus (happy??) and I am peeking from inside (wishing to go with him??).  This has always been a favourite of mine.

In 1991, I painted this on a 20"x30" canvas that was destroyed later that decade.  Luckily, I had taken a partial photo of it (see below).

Over the years, I had wanted to re-paint it and I finally got to it this month.  I used a smaller format (9"x12" canvas board), and stuck to acrylics, but I added a "stitching effect" in tribute to the previous destruction of the original.  In short, it was a symbolic re-construction.  The new work is shown below and all its detail can be magnified at the link above (click on the posting's title).

New Artwork Added to My Webpage

If you are bored this week-end, check out some of the newly listed artwork on my webpage.  Just click on the posting title above.  Let me know what you think of "Lipstick" and others.

Until the Blog is up and running ....

I am yet to find some time to get this blog up and running, meanwhile, you may check out some of my artwork at the link below.  The next entry is going to be related to one of my recent works.  Stay tuned.

http://marwan-george-khoury.fineartamerica.com