Byron Birdsall Explained

Byron Birdsall
Birth Date:December 18, 1937
Birth Place:Buckeye, Arizona, U.S.
Death Place:[Whidbey Island, Washington ], U.S.
Alma Mater:Seattle Pacific University
Stanford University
Occupation:Painter
Spouse:
  • Lynn Birdsall
  • Billie Birdsall
Children:1 son, 1 daughter

Byron Birdsall (December 18, 1937 – December 4, 2016) was an American painter. He was "one of Alaska's most renowned watercolorists" according to the Alaska Daily News.[1]

Early life

Byron Birdsall was born on December 18, 1937, in Buckeye, Arizona.[1] [2] [3] He grew up in Los Angeles, California,[3] where his father was a Christian minister.[1]

Birdsall graduated from the Seattle Pacific University and Stanford University.[3]

Career

Birdsall started his career as a history teacher in California.[1] After teaching for six years, he worked in advertising in Alaska.[1]

Birdsall was a prolific painter in Alaska for five decades.[1] He painted landscapes and portraits, both in watercolour and oil paintings.[1] [2] [4] He did many paintings of Anchorage.[5]

Birdsall did prints from the early part of his career onwards. For example, he designed a limited edition of 500 prints for the commemoration of the dedication of the Russian Bishop's House in 1988.[6] Meanwhile, in 1991, Birdsall designed stamps for the state of Alaska.[7] At the Seward Music & Arts Festival in Seward, Alaska in September 2015, he did a mural with 50-60 volunteers representing two kayakers at the Aialik Glacier for the main building of the Kenai Fjords National Park.[8]

Birdsall was the author of several art books.[9]

Personal life and death

Birdsall was married twice. With his first wife Lynn, who was a watercolourist,[9] he had a son, Joshua, and a daughter, Courtenay.[1] After his first wife died of cancer in 1998, he married Bilie, with whom he resided in Anchorage, Alaska and on Whidbey Island in Washington.[1]

Birdsall died of heart failure on December 4, 2016.[1] [2] [5]

Works

Notes and References

  1. News: Caldwell. Suzanna. Byron Birdsall, renowned and prolific watercolor artist, dies at 78. December 14, 2016. Alaska Dispatch News. December 5, 2016.
  2. News: Black. Gary. Famed Alaska watercolorist Byron Birdsall dies at 78. December 14, 2016. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. December 4, 2016.
  3. Book: Woodward. Kester. Painting Alaska. 2000. Alaska Geographic Society. Anchorage, Alaska. 9781566610513. 70–71.
  4. Book: Adams. Annmarie. McMurry. Sally. Exploring everyday landscapes. 1997. University of Tennessee Press. Knoxville, Tennessee. 9780870499838. 38224052. 175.
  5. News: Maxwell. Lauren. Byron Birdsall, watercolor painter of Alaska scenes, dies. December 14, 2016. KTVA. December 5, 2016.
  6. News: Birdsall Art to Commemorate Dedication of Bishop's House. December 15, 2016. Daily Sitka Sentinel. October 7, 1988. 22. Newspapers.com. registration .
  7. News: State Stamps Commemorating Alaska Highway Makes Debut. December 15, 2016. Daily Sitka Sentinel. December 9, 1991. 8. Newspapers.com. registration .
  8. News: Zemach. Haidi. Master artist Byron Birdsall's vision comes to life. December 15, 2016. Seward City News. September 30, 2015.
  9. News: Alaskan Artist Byron Birdsall To Visit in Sitka. December 15, 2016. Daily Sitka Sentinel. April 8, 1993. 5. Newspapers.com. registration .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Byron Birdsall".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.