Antoine Khanji

Canadian artist Antoine Khanji honed his signature painting style of obsessive vivid colors, elusive symbols and diagrams, and different painting styles that blend harmoniously with current era.

Antoine drew his subjects with a very strong accent on bright colors which is represented in most of his artistic work. His Middle Eastern heritage was the primary

cause of using such strong primary colors. Red, yellow and green colors reflect the direct influence of dry and hot summers.

Antoine's early work was critiqued and mentored by Artist Elias Zayat, arguably one of the most significant Syrian artists of the 20th century', back in 1976.

Antoine's first oil painting exhibition was at the Caisse Populaire Desjardins in Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada while he was studying Computer Science and Mathematics at Bishops' University and later on, Antoine worked as an information technology consultant in the US for more than 30 years, traveling back and forth between US and Canada on a weekly basis.

In addition to his love for oil painting, he discovered digital painting while using Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Penup platform. In October 2018, Antoine Khanji was inducted to the Hall of Fame of digital artists where he pioneered expressing different styles and mediums in the digital world, Antoine has more than 11 000 followers on www.penup.com.

At the age of 60, Antoine is back to fulfill his dreams as an artist and devotes most of his time sharing his talent and passion for art with the whole world.

The Process

My paintings are complete fabrications in every last detail. They are visions of abstract forms and shapes that appear in my head after meditations or dreams. Those visions I transfer to the canvas with expressive brush strokes and bold colors. I always find joy painting where I show how beautiful imagination is.

I strive to find perfection in every endeavor I commit to without limiting myself to any set of rules or barriers. If the painting lacks perfection, change it. My painting process evolves overtime. What I have in mind when I start a painting may end up completely different, of what I first conceived. Kind of natural selection applied to the painting.

The creative act lies in inventing the sort of accidents that lead to a successful result: in this case something that resembles reality and satisfies formal painting consideration of composition, value, saturation and temperature. The end result is unknown and can remain so well into the process. What comes out, however, is anything but ordinary.

I create artwork to be felt, heard, touched, smelled and last but not least seen. If my painting stirs emotions of excitement, joy, freshness and energy then I can say the work is done, and I move to the next project."