Artist Biography

This marine photographer and artist has spent a lifetime exploring the underwater worlds of North Atlantic coastal and inland waters. As a child Gilbert was inspired by famous ocean explorers Hans Hass and Jacques Yves Cousteau. Lured by the awesome rapture of the deep, where sunlight is quickly absorbed into only remnants of rainbow's colours, he has transformed his youthful dreams into a career.

Gilbert has a history of successful unique artistic ventures created by a vivid imagination; a love for the splendid creatures living in hidden aquatic environments and a lifetime cause in communicating the mysteries of underwater environments. However, his initial and overriding goal is to create awareness for the need of preservation of life supporting water. With these motivations, he has created underwater photography, stained glass, stone sculpture, scrimshaw on stone and most recently, marine abstract art.

Gilbert's abstract art was officially represented at the 28th "Festival Mondiale de l'Image Sous Marine 2001" Antibes in Cote d'Azur, France. His under water photography is permanently on display in a pictorial Gallery of the Sea in the Acadian French community of Cheticamp, Nova Scotia. His work has been featured on several Canadian postage stamps and has appeared in most well known nature oriented publications, including National Geographic and The Atlantic Salmon Journal. Gilbert's photographs have added the visuals to many specialized books on the topic of marine life that have been published in North America and Europe.

Aqua Art is available in limited editions on archivable quality paper. The images are only produced in large formats, with the potential for unlimited scope. Images with traditional ratios begin at 3 by 4 feet, with untraditional ratios beginning at a comparable scope. Contact Gilbert van Ryckevorsel for more information about pricing and how to order.