The car art being produced these days can, to a large extent, be divided into two categories – realistic and idealistic. In the latter case, we see scenes that have been devised in the artist’s mind, transferred onto canvas with some amount of artistic licence taken. The realists, however, will look to replicate exactly what you will see if you look at a car up close. In order to make their paintings a bit more esoteric, they will frequently take a different angle from that which you would expect.

When it comes to photo realism in an art car painting, one of the artists who produce the goods time and time again is Franklin Cunningham. The realism of his works should come as no shock because he spent time as a photographer before he got into car art, a pursuit that he still maintains to this day. Cunningham’s interests are the unique lines of a sports car seen in close-up. How light affects the appearance of paint on steel is important in Cunningham’s pictures.

The previous sentence is borne out in the clearest terms possible by Cunningham’s Steel-Light-Color Collection, where Cunningham’s ability to capture the elements that make a car look its best aesthetically is showcased in its fullest form. This ability and appreciation were garnered through months, even years, of visiting Concours d’Elegance and several professional raceways in order to see cars in their natural environment. A keen Ferrari enthusiast, Cunningham’s artist portfolio includes a focus on the Italian giants and their sleek, powerful automobiles.