It was with great sadness that I learned that Roy Grinnell passed away yesterday. Roy was an extraordinary aviation artist, but also much more than that. He was also very interested in American history and created many paintings related to Native Americans, the Civil War and other chapters of the United States’ history, as well as other types of painting. A rare trait in artists, he was able to paint in many different styles, always with great talent. If you are not familiar with Roy’s work, I strongly urge you to visit his website https://roygrinnellart.com/ and browse through some of his work. He was a master of colour and gave his aviation scenes extraordinary lighting and dynamics.

As a child, I remember enjoying his work, studying and copying it. He was one of the artists that inspired me to start drawing and painting, and ultimately begin to create digital aviation profiles. To this day, my work is still influenced in many regards by Roy’s own work.

Over a decade ago, I was put in contact with Roy and his wonderful wife Irene through the CAF French Wing and its president Bernard Delfino. Bernard was a close friend of Roy and Irene, and also became a personal friend. Sadly, Bernard passed away in 2013. We all worked together on several projects supported by the French Wing, and it was always a pleasure to communicate with Irene and Roy.

Blue skies, Roy. You will be greatly missed, but never forgotten.