2012-02-09 22:30:13 - Renowned artist Charles Maher of the Automotive Fine Arts Society (AFAS) will showcase several of his fantastic paintings.

Renowned artist Charles Maher of the Automotive Fine Arts Society (AFAS) will showcase several of his fantastic paintings, including “Magari Domani" and “Midsummer’s Dream” during the 2012 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance from March 8-11, 2012, in Amelia Island, Fla. Maher, among the other 24 active AFAS artists who create arts of work in oil, watercolors, acrylics, wood, gouache, pen and ink, clay and metal, will celebrate the powerful Ferrari GTO and the elegant Mercedes-Benz 540K during the AFAS exhibit, sponsored by Mazda North America.

"Each of my paintings is meant to capture and convey a special moment in time," said Maher. "Many pieces of automotive art strive to show speed. I prefer to use a mix of color and light

to embody the power and attention these cars demand, even while at rest."

Maher’s painting "Magari Domani," which means Maybe Tomorrow in Italian, tells the story of a young man bringing his Ferrari GTO to the neighborhood garage for service. He is visibly perplexed at being stalled by three mechanics. In this 25" x 75” acrylic triptych, Maher uses light and rosso red color to make the Ferrari GTO shine as the center of attention, while the men are depicted in darker colors, less noticeable hues.

Building upon his technique in maneuvering light and color, Maher will also show his 25" x 72" acrylic painting, "Midsummer’s Dream," which depicts a whimsical scene of ballerinas flanking a Mercedes 540K. “This piece blends reality with a touch of fantasy noted Maher. “By manipulating lights, colors and forms in my paintings, I can create works of art that appeal to the senses and the imagination

Maher is a true renaissance man. A master carpenter, Maher completed building another solid-body electric guitar from scratch for his son and is finishing a commissioned piece for a musician from Michigan.

A Kansas City native, Maher grew up in Miami, Fla., and began his automotive journey at the wheel of his family’s 1955 Chevy Bel-Air and a Chrysler 300. He earned a bachelor's degree in Fine Art from the University of Notre Dame in 1968.

After working as a designer for Ford Motor Company, Maher spent 14 years with a graphics firm in Detroit designing production car graphics for Ford, GM, Honda and Toyota. He also completed projects, such as pace car graphics for Indianapolis and the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Maher’s work has been displayed at Concours d'Elegance events at Amelia Island, Ault Park, Greenwich, Meadow Brook, Pebble Beach and the Eyes-on-Design Exhibition in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. His artwork has appeared in AutoWeek, Automobile, Car Collector, Mustang Monthly, Racer, Road & Track, Automobile Quarterly, and Sports Car Market magazines.

Maher works almost exclusively in acrylics, but varies his technique not only from painting to painting, but even within a single work, which might have a watercolor-like background and a very realistic, oil-like subject vehicle just like in the “Ferrari Dino

For information about Charles Maher’s art, visit www.doctor-design.com/maherautoart/index.html.

About the Automotive Fine Arts Society
AFAS was established in 1983 by a group of artists who are acknowledged by critics to be among the best in their field. Members work in many diverse mediums including oil, watercolors, acrylics, wood, gouache, pen & ink, clay and metal. AFAS participates in select shows across the country including the Pebble Beach Concours and the Amelia Island Concours d´Elegance. Information about AFAS is available at www.autoartgallery.com or by contacting Laura Sayed at (214) 520-3430 ext. 306 or lsayed@tprm.com.