User:Michael Chamel Khoury

]Michael Khoury (born Lebanon 1950- ) is a Canadian painter living and working in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.

Michael’s interest in art began at a very young age before his early education in Fredericton. He attended Saint Dunstan’s Elementary School and went on to Fredericton High School and later to Saint Thomas University and The University of New Brunswick. His interest and competence in art and drawing was noticed by his teachers throughout the early years.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree he started a women’s fashion retail business. Two years later he married and both Michael and his wife continued the business for the next twenty-one years. Michael was always fond of the world of fashion, fabric, texture and color,

In 1983, he showed a keen interest in photography and attended several workshops by Freeman Patterson over a period of four years. His profound interest in photography led him to a re-kindling of his interest in painting and soon after met Molly Lamb Bobak who resided in Fredericton with her husband Bruno Bobak. Molly recognized the potential talent in Michael and encouraged him for the next two years with private lessons in her studio.

Michael spends his full time painting and making pictures and continues to travel and research art history. His work diverse and representational featuring the female figure as subject. In his own words: “I want to express my admiration for women, who have been a formidable part of my life since childhood. I want to express their femininity, their sensuality, their intelligence, their compassion, as these traits have steadfastly affected my own sensibilities. For me, there are no lines to be drawn between reality, spirituality and fantasy, but rather necessary connections, as I have always been comfortable with the osmosis of the three concepts. My strong awareness of physical surroundings has led me to a greater appreciation of Beauty; I am a humanist, with spiritual tendencies,  that define what I do. My sensitivity to the aesthetic, to the eclectic mix of imagery which surrounds me, creates an on-going tapestry, a work in progress, with elements taken from that which is familiar and molding them through a personal expression. I am drawn to both the monochromatic and to the vast colour palette through which I express my fondness of anything which is deemed idealistically beautiful, especially the female figure. This in turn has made my most recent work a confident homage to women, with an expression of subjects used with the intention to reveal a varied symbolism that perhaps may define me as a person."

http://michaelkhouryfineart.com/