"... a grey mist on the sea's face..."
13 x 11

"Up the Airy Mountain..."
20 x 11

"...a light into my path."
-Psalm 119:105
13" diameter
$850

The watercolor paintings of Bryon Birdsall 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.

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 fields are within walking distance, sometimes far into Alaska's interior, often to the Pacific Northwest, and sometimes to those other exotic worlds of his book, Byron Birdsall's Alaska and Other Exotic Worlds.

If discipline is worthy, then Birdsall's belief that an artist's work ethic cannot always be dependent upon the whims of the Muse wins him an accolade or two. If the perfection of technique is a virtue, then having been a disciple of Japanese wood block printer, Hokusai and Hiroshige, the lawlessness of Birdsall's graded washes makes him an undisputed master.

While landscapes and cityscapes are Birdsall's forte, his love of history and fantasies about time travel have led to painting from archival material, resulting in may historical pieces. As contact between the former Soviet Union and the former Russian America has grown, Birdsall has found a compelling personal interest in this historical connection. His fascination focuses on the Iconography of Russian Orthodoxy, and he continues to explore the beauty and significance of this artistic expression in his own icon work.

Byron Birdsall's paintings are included in the collections of a number of museums and public institutions; they hang in corporate board rooms and atriums; are owned by royalty, presidents, senators, governors, loyal friends, new fans, and his mother-in-law. The 1992 printing of a U.S. Postage stamp, designed by the artist and commemorating the building of the Alcan Highway, was a personal high point for Birdsall, an avid stamp collector.