Keith Ferris, ASAA

Keith has had a 50 year career in aviation art. Active in the Air Force Art Program over 40 years, with 53 major paintings in the collection, he has traveled worldwide with the Air Force and flown in and documented the missions of most jet aircraft types in the inventory. He is a founding member and past president of the American Society of Aviation Artists. He’s best known for two 75 foot murals at the National Air and Space Museum Fortresses Under Fire and The Evolution of Jet Aviation. Original Ferris paintings are owned and exhibited in galleries and museums world wide. Keith is an Honorary Daedalian, Honorary member of the USAF Thunderbirds, 1992 inductee into the Aviation Hall of Fame of NJ, and Honorary Doctorate from Daniel Webster College in 1995. His painting Real Trouble was selected as Best of show at the ASAA Annual Exhibition in 1995, First Trap in 1996, Rolling Thunder in 1999 and Nowhere To Hide in 2000.

Jo Kotula, ASAA

"Many people think of Jo as limited to the covers of Model Airplane News but he was far more than what you see in those covers. Having been interested in lettering, Jo's line drawings involve all of the principles involved with calligraphy. He did some art in lampblack and water, handling that medium fantastically and the flow of his lines became a trademark for Jo's art. His techniques were simple yet dramatic. He was a master of handling sunlight on bare aluminum - strong shapes, nice composition, simplicity. He loved the seashore and enjoyed sea and landscape painting, always with the Kotula flair."
Keith Ferris

Jo Kotula was inducted into the New jersey Aviation hall of Fame.

Robert McCall, ASAA

Renowned NASA artist Robert McCall's diverse visual canon varies in scale from his classic "Decade of Achievement" U.S. Postage Stamp Series to the six story mural "The Space Mural, A Cosmic View," which is viewed annually by an estimated 10 million visitors to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. A modern master once described by Isaac Asimov as "the nearest thing to an artist in residence from outer space," Bob used his incisive skills to chronicle our space program from the early Mercury flights to the space shuttle, which granted him inside knowledge of such red letter achievements as the first moon landing, controlled space travel and the high tech galactic explorations of modern times. In addition to a litany of famous murals on permanent exhibition at space and research centers nationwide, Bob has supplied conceptual paintings for movies such as The Black Hole, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek and many others. His 19 x 60 foot canvas entitled "The Prologue and the Promise" is a commanding and popular presence in the Horizons Pavilion at Walt Disney's Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida. In partnership with his wife, Louise, McCall has successfully executed a number of creative projects popular with Arizonans, including stained glass windows at Valley Presbyterian Church and at Sky Harbor Airport, as well as a mural in the Arizona Industrial Commissions Building in Phoenix. Robert is a founding member of the American Society of Aviation Artists.

R.G. Smith, ASAA

"All of us who knew R. G. felt honored to be associated with him in any way. He was a warm, gentle person who made others feel good. He knew how to make suggestions, too, whether it was to improve a painting or to point the ASAA in the right direction. Above all, he understood that in aviation art the art was as important as the aviation. His ability to place aircraft in settings that were as pleasing as they were accurate was an inspiration to us all. We will miss his gentle humor and his perceptive mind. He was a great artist and a great man."
Luther Y. Gore

Ren Wicks

"Ren was a founder and twice-president of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles. His numerous awards include the Prestigious Life Achievement Award from SILA and the Art Directors Medal. He was a founder of the ASAA. Over 40 of his paintings are in the USAF Art Collection and many more in the NASA Collection. He completed a beautiful series of paintings of Martian landscapes and his series for Lockheed done in 40-'44 still rank among the best aviation ads ever produced."
-Nixon Galloway