Gary Aylward continues to astound with his latest paintings of our forcible Canadian Landscape.  His paintings of the vast energy found in nature speak to themes deeply rooted in historical art traditions – from the visual characterizations of Grecian mythology, to the Enlightenment’s fascination with the sublime – Aylward’s art expresses this same sentiment of nature’s stupefying power, captured in a contemporary vision of our rugged west coast environment.  Influenced by Renaissance painting techniques, his pieces are built up in layers of textural paint and glazes, resulting in varying levels of translucence, superb balance of light and shadow, and dizzying attention to detail.  His intense focus elevates the subject matter beyond a merely faithful representation into a hyper-realized vision of life and the forces that shape it.