The watercolor paintings of Byron Birdsall (b. 1937) are distillations of reality, scenes reduced to their basics with the integrity of the subject undiminished. In Birdsall's hands, light takes on a thousand forms, whether inspired by the relentless vertical rays of the East African coast, a hazy palpable dawn over Samoa, or the silent light of the winter Northland that illuminates but does not warm. It is this essential aspect of light that is at the heart of Birdsall's art. It is the life he gives this light that has cast him to the forefront of Alaska's art community and beyond.
An Alaskan watercolorist, Byron Birdsall is noted for his graded washes, a technique he studied as a disciple of Japanese woodblock printers, Hokusai and Hiroshige.
Working out of a studio in a log house on the edge of Sand Lake near Anchorage, the artist divides his time between sketching and painting, and trips to the field for stimulation. Sometimes the field is within walking distance, sometimes far into Alaska's interior, often to the Pacific Northwest, and at times to other exotic worlds.
While landscapes and cityscapes are Birdsall's forte, his love of history and fantasies about time travel have led him to paint from archival material, resulting in many historical pieces.
Working out of a studio in a log house on the edge of Sand Lake near Anchorage, the artist divides his time between sketching and painting, and trips to the field for stimulation. Sometimes the field is within walking distance, sometimes far into Alaska's interior, often to the Pacific Northwest, and at times to other exotic worlds.
While landscapes and cityscapes are Birdsall's forte, his love of history and fantasies about time travel have led him to paint from archival material, resulting in many historical pieces.
Byron Birdsall's paintings are included in the collections of a number of museums and public institutions, hang in corporate board rooms and atriums, are owned by royalty, presidents, new fans, and loyal friends. The printing of a US Postage stamp in 1992, designed by the artist and commemorating the building of the Alcan Highway, was a personal high point for Birdsall, an avid stamp collector.
In 2005 Birdsall had the honor of appointment to the American Academy in Rome where he worked and painted for three months. Currently he is painting for a book to be published by a maritime transport company with holdings around the world. This has taken the inveterate traveler to South America, Korea, Boston, and Sakhalin Island. In addition, Birdsall has painted a series of images of Jerusalem.
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