Roy Thomas, one of Canada's most influential aboriginal artists, died in November 2004 in Thunder Bay Ontario after a four year battle with cancer.He was 54.
Born on a trapline in Ontario, Thomas grew up on a reserve. His grandmother encouraged him to express himself throughart.After working a series of menial jobs as a teenager and struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, he turned to painting.He found success almost immediately, and painting became a lifelong passion.He believed his grandmother was present in all of his painting, and he honoured her by signing his works with a small crow, the name she had given him.
Primarily a self-taught artist, he was known for his distinctive painings of vibrantly coloured, totemic animals. Thomas workin the the Ojibwa woodland style, using symbolisms and imagery inspired by the pictographs that he saw as a child.
Before his death he had numerous solo exhibitions and he participated in several international group shows.His work is represented in major art collection across and Canada and around the world.
