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Even as a child growing up in Maine, Roy Thurston always knew he wanted to be a Westerner. Even as a child, he knew he wanted to be an artist. Today, as an internationally recognized painter active in the L.A. art world, Thurston has achieved both those goals and more.

Thurston's artistic interests and abilities are broad. His paintings reflect the precision and technical virtuosity of an engineer's mind on the one hand, and a pure love of color and its many possibilities for evoking emotion on the other. The son of a famous aircraft designer, Thurston has long been interested in industrial materials and machinery. Besides collecting old trucks, he has also amassed an impressive array of industrial machines, which he uses to manufacture the metal supports for his paintings. Materials for these supports range from shaped or milled aluminum panels to large chunks of honeycomb aluminum. Thurston originally began using honeycomb aluminum after he found sheets of it in the Lockheed salvage yard; he cites the ready availability of a wide variety of materials as one of the reasons he enjoys living in Los Angeles.

Technical expertise and a reputation for meticulous work led to an unusual commission for Thurston this year: he was selected by the Los Angeles County Museum to build and install an exact replica of an interior space (including furnishings) from the Pavillon L'Esprit Nouveau by Le Corbusier for the museum's show, L'Esprit Nouveau: Purism in Paris, 1918-1925. The exhibit opened in April.

But while all of Thurston's work reflects his precision and technical fluency, this is not to say that it appears mechanical or dry. On the contrary, his careful construction and the subtle refinement of his paintings evoke an emotional response that flows naturally out of the contained intensity of his technique. Thurston is in love with color, and his paintings are vivid presences that engage the viewer in an active encounter. 

This emotional quality has been recognized and valued by discriminating collectors. Thurston's work is included in two preeminent Italian collections, the Panza di Biumo Collection in Milan and the Berlingieri Collection in Rome. From the Renaissance to the present day, the Italian art world has been particularly appreciative of an artist's ability to combine the best of scientific precision and emotional power. It is fitting that much of Thurston's work has found a home there.

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