Automotive Hall of Fame Features Work by Watercolor Artist Richard Lewis

DEARBORN, Mich., May 8, 2006 -- The distinctive work of automotive watercolor artist Richard Lewis is now on display at the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn. Lewis' paintings look beyond merely the shell of the automobile, capturing not only the form of the automobile, but the reflections and subtle shades created by those reflections.

Lewis began creating his unique watercolors depicting the automobile and many of its styling features simply because he has always liked cars.

"It's rare that I just want to do a painting of a car," says Lewis. "It is more that I want to paint all the distorted reflections on the chrome of the body, as much for the challenge as the end result."

In the Automotive Hall of Fame exhibit, Lewis' work not only depicts some of the greatest cars of days gone by, but also the features on those cars from the iconic, such as hood ornaments, to what some might consider mundane, such as hubcaps. In Lewis' hands, however, the mundane is transformed literally into a reflection on the automobile.

One painting depicts the hood ornament commonly known as "the Stutz Ra" from a Stutz vehicle of the Twenties. Several other paintings portray just the nose of a vehicle. Another is a perspective from the front of a Ferrari 275 GTB +4. From hubcaps to headlamps, Lewis' paintings offer a unique view of the automobile and what is beyond just the sheet metal.

Lewis was born in 1961 in Hitchin Hertfordshire, England, and moved to Los Angeles as a small child. After architecture school he began painting cars. His office was located next to a car restoration company, which stored many vintage cars. He photographed and painted many of these cars and now he regularly attends concourse events and takes as many as 1500 pictures in a weekend. He spends over 200 hours on a single painting.

The Lewis exhibit is just one of the many fascinating programs that come to the Automotive Hall of Fame each year, according to Hall of Fame President Jeffrey Leestma.

"We are pleased to provide this exhibit for our guests," said Leestma. "Not only is it in keeping with our effort to preserve the history of the motor vehicle industry in an educational environment, it's also a very unique perspective on some of the greatest automobiles ever produced."

The Automotive Hall of Fame, located in Dearborn, Mich., is the only industry-wide means to honor the men and women of the global motor vehicle and related industries. It is dedicated to preserving the history of mobility by celebrating the creativity, toil and genius of the individual. The Automotive Hall of Fame is both a visitor attraction and an educational resource for inspiring others to higher levels of achievement on their own work and lives.

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