Tipperary man’s Star Wars-themed art exhibition delights and enchants fans of all ages

In the month of October, Nenagh Library hosted the work of 25-year-old anime artist Keil Maher from Toomevara.

Children arrived at the Meet the Artist session on Saturday October 21, lightsabers in hand and armed with lots of questions.

But most of the visitors were adults. As they flicked through the folders of work or perused the frames pieces, they were impressed by the skill of the young artist.

Most of the pieces on display were inspired by Star Wars, but other works included characters from Dungeons and Dragons, Dragon Ball Z and sci-fi and fantasy elements.

Keil spoke to the Tipperarylive about his inspiration and love of art.

“I find art calms my nerves and makes me feel at peace. It gives me a little bit of imagination and something I’m good at,” said Keil.

Keil lives with autism, and he said it has been a lot of work and a long journey for him to get to the point of having his work on display.

“It might be hard for some autistic people to actually express themselves. Like we all for example, like wearing our masks so pretending to be someone else.

“It has taken me a long time to actually express myself, and my mother helped me out a lot.

“Since doctors diagnosed me, I was autistic since I was seven, they said I couldn’t walk, talk or do anything. You could say they have been proven wrong,” said Keil.

Keil credits his secondary school art teacher as a mentor who got him started in art.

“Ever since I was small, I was very into art. I didn’t know how to draw properly. I went to Borrisokane school and learned a little bit about art from my art teacher Richard Williams.

“He helped me a lot and gave me a head start on what to do. I could always draw, but I couldn't do it properly, and if he hadn’t helped me out, I wouldn’t be able to do this sort of stuff.