Murray Jones
Retired U.S. Army Apache Pilot • Military Aviation Artist
The Pilot Behind the Art
For Murray Jones, military aviation isn't something he simply paints. It's something he has lived.
A U.S. Army AH-64 Apache pilot and Instructor Pilot with firsthand combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, Murray brings an aviator's perspective to his art that few artists can match. His understanding of flight, aircraft and the people who operate them allows him to capture not only the technical detail of military aviation, but the emotion and experience behind it.
The Artist
That experience follows Murray into the studio.
Working primarily in oils and acrylics, Murray's military artwork ranges from combat aircraft and helicopters to the people and missions behind them. His goal is authenticity, using his experience as both an aviator and combat veteran to bring the viewer closer to what those moments actually felt like.
When Two Aviators' Stories Connect
Long before they met, Murray was inspired as a young aviator by the extraordinary Naval Aviation photography in Heater's The Cutting Edge.
Years later, Murray decided to honor the aviator and photographer who had inspired him. Without Heater knowing, Murray transformed one of Heater's photographs — two VF-1 Tomcats entering the break for landing aboard USS Kitty Hawk — into an original painting as a gift to him. The finished work was placed in a handcrafted frame created specifically for the painting and presented to Heater as a tribute.
What began as one aviator honoring another would eventually become The Bar Scene From TOP GUN and part of Full Sail Fine Art's TOPGUN Legacy Collection.
The Artwork
The Bar Scene From TOP GUN by Murray Jones is available as a limited-edition giclée print, co-signed by the artist and Captain C.J. "Heater" Heatley III.
From The Ready Room
Briefing #1
I Had to Get That Shot
The story behind the photograph that became the TOP GUN bar scene.