Having had a naval career in the Pacific Theatre as a gunner officer on the L.S.T. 48, Thomas Hoyne created paintings that reflect his experiences as well as his poetic feelings about the sea and its sailing and fishing vessels. Many believe that his greatest strength was his realistic depiction of ocean vessels, something that he worked at meticulously. In 1983, Hoyne received the Rudolph J. Schaefer Award at the Mystic International, an award given to artists who best document the country's marine heritage.

In order to be absolutely accurate, he commissioned renowned ship modeler Erik Ronnberg to build models for ships that became subjects of paintings. "To capture the vessel's movement ...