Newtown resident David Maier, a self-taught artist of oils, watercolors and “scratch painting,” is presenting 27 works of diverse media at the Newtown Municipal Center through August 31.

The collection can be viewed any time the municipal center, at 3 Primrose Street, is open: weekdays between 8:30 am and 4:40 pm, and evenings when town board and commission meetings are taking place there.

Of special note are four works inspired by the famous 17th Century painting “Girl With A Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer. The centerpiece is a copy of the original painting Maier created for his father. It is flanked by Maier’s imagining of the environment in which the painting was created.

A native of DeKalb County, Indiana, Maier credits his high school art teacher, Mrs B, with recognizing his talent and igniting his interest in creating art. He learns wherever he can, he said.

“I learn from visiting museums and I learn from YouTube,” he said. “And I spend a lot of time making things that I have to throw out. I deconstruct things and I see them as a whole.”

As he expands his art, Maier has begun to paint on wood with stain and an airbrush. Some of his works are on classic canvas, while others are on Masonite or linen. The artist has additionally begun to learn the ancient art of fresco. He has even painted gas tank covers for motorcycles.

Sometimes he paints from memory, sometimes from photographs — and there is always real life.

“I look at everything closely,” he has said. “And I go from there.”