Jean Claude Roy was born in Rochefort-sur-Mer, on the west coast of France, in 1948. He knew from the age of seven that he wanted to be an artist. At the age of 16, after attending technical lycée, Jean Claude studied to enter the merchant marine, and took his first job at seventeen as an apprentice electrician on a French cable-repair boat. There followed five years at sea, with a large amount of time spent in port in St John's, Newfoundland, Canada, where his interest in drawing and painting turned to landscape. In 1971 he emigrated to Newfoundland, Canada, and for the next ten years worked as a marine electrician by day, and painted during the evenings and weekends. By 1973 he was selling works in local galleries, and he had his first solo exhibition in 1974. In 1982, he returned to France; he was eager to build his career as an artist in France, and at this time he made the decision to live from the proceeds of his art. His career in France developed gradually, with exhibitions and representation in local galleries. He supplemented his income by teaching in local art schools. He maintained his ties with Newfoundland, however, and returned every few years to paint and exhibit. In 1994 he established a studio near St John's, and since that time has divided his time between his two homes in France and Newfoundland. Since the late 1980's, a characteristic of his landscapes has been the presence of the sun; this Since the late 1980's, a characteristic of his landscapes has been the presence of the sun; this followed a discovery that by putting the sun – initially a black sun – in the sky, it added light to the picture, and it has now come to form an important part of the composition of each work. He is a prolific artist by any measure and refers to his work as his ‘diary' - he paints every day, and each painting is a record of that day. Jean Claude's paintings are found in many private and public collections in North America and Europe, and he is represented by galleries in Canada, the United States and France.