Who Is David Edward Byrd?
David Edward Byrd is an American born graphic artist. His styles include Art Nouveau, Vienna Secession and Art Deco. He was inspired by such artists as Joe Leyendecker, a German born illustrator, who is responsible for The modern image of Santa Claus, the fat man in the red fur coat as well as baby new year during his time at the Saturday evening Post which he work at for over 40 years. Leyendecker was also a notable influence on Norman Rockwell. http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/1081556 Other classic influences, include Gustav Klimt; an Austrian Symbolist painter http://www.klimtgallery.org/ Toulouse Lautrec; a French painter, printmaker, draftsman, and illustrator, http://www.toulouse-lautrec-foundation.org/ and Wes Wilson; a master of
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psychedelic art. http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/psychedelic-poster-pioneer-wes-wilson/
A contemporary influence of Dave Edward Byrd, is American illustrator Bob Peak. Peak was commissioned by the US Postal service to design 30 stamps for both 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and the 1984 Winter Olympics and Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Robert Peak is considered the "father of the modern movie poster.” A few of the popular movie posters he designed, My Fair Lady, Superman, Rollerball and my favorite, the first five Star Trek films. http://www.bobpeak.com/about/
David Edward Byrd was born April 4, 1941 and is from Cleveland Tennessee which is located thirty miles outside of Chattanooga Tennessee to the Northeast. He and his family relocated to Miami Beach Florida, where he graduated in 1959 from Miami Beach High School. After high school he attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania where he graduated in 1964 with a BFA (Bachelor of fine Arts) in painting and design and later in 1966 he earned an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in painting and printmaking.
In 1967, along with his art school roommate Peter Nevard he moved to New York City. He helped establish Fantasy Unlimited, a multi-media collective; a 110 acre farm in Port Jervis, New York near the Neversink River. Some clients he, and the six others in the collective, produced artwork work for include Bloomingdale’s, Bill Blass, Boussac of France, Ralph Lauren & Polo, and Clairol. Byrd ran special effects, consisting of smoke, strobe lights and liquid projections for the commercial light shows for the products of their clients. http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Fantasy_Unlimited
In 1968 David was hired by Bill Graham to work for him at the Fillmore East Ballroom known as “The Church of Rock and Roll”, a former Yiddish vaudeville theater in Manhattan's East Village that Graham transformed into one of the most iconic rock venues of the time. http://untappedcities.com/2014/02/05/history-of-the-fillmore-east-in-the-east-village-as-the-allman-brothers-say-farewell/ In the three years the venue operated, Byrd was the exclusive poster and program designer. He created venue posters for rock legends Jimi Hendrix(which has been voted No.8 as the best rock poster of all-time by Billboard Magazine) http://www.billboardlists.50webs.com/billboard-25-best-rock-posters-of-all-time.html , Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, and The Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead poster looks more like a flyer for a sock hop, than the psychedelic skull icon that they are well known for in later years.
In 1969 he created the "Other" Woodstock poster. The poster he designed had a stain-glass look with cherubs on the outer edge, framing at the center, a nude “Aquarius” pouring water out of an urn. But the town Council of Wallkill New York thought it was obscene, so another poster was designed by Arnold Skolnick, the iconic guitar neck with the Dove on it. The festival would later relocated to Bethel, New York. http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/May-2012/1969-Woodstock-Music-Festival-Two-Posters-on-View-at-Museum-at-Bethel-Woods-in-Bethel-NY/
In 1970 he “stepped out" onto The Great White Way when he formed Yellow Studio, and began his career as a Broadway poster designer. His first Broadway poster was Lanford Wilson’s The Gingham Dog, a drama about and interracial couple’s struggle through the time of racial tension. For the next 20 years he produced many Broadway show posters including Stephen Sondheim’s Follies; (the inspiration for Follies he surround himself with pictures of Marlene Dietrich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBSvk8lLyQU&feature=youtube_gdata_player , Alan Menken's Little Shop of Horrors, and Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Also Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias which Byrd describes the preliminary sketch as “Joan Crawford wearing curlers with a vengeance” http://www.david-edward-byrd.com/theatre7-5.html The produced version had a softer gentler version of a woman in curlers. While not illustrating musical posters, he worked on other New York venues, such as; The Lincoln Center Repertory, Buffalo Arena Stage, and Radio City Music Hall’s Restoration and 50th Anniversary. In 1973, along with many other illustrators, Byrd won a Grammy for album design for The Who's Rock Opera Tommy.
Between 1970-1979 Byrd taught air brushing techniques, illustration, at the School for Visual Arts, and the Pratt Institute in New York. In 1980, two colleagues from from his days at Fillmore East; Chip Monck, and Noel Monk asked him to come to Los Angeles to work with them on the Van Halen World Invasion Tour. He later decided to move from New York, to L.A. He continued his poster illustrations for theatrical venues such as, The Doolittle Theatre, The Pasadena Playhouse, and The Long Beach Civic Light Opera, among many others.
T.V. Guide commissioned him to create portrait covers for their magazine in 1978. Battle Star Galactica, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, The 1988 Winter Olympics, Murder She Wrote are some of the TV shows/major events he produced covers for.
In 1984, he took over as Art Director for The Advocate a national publication of gay news. During his time at The Advocate he oversaw the transition from a tabloid to magazine format.
While working on the Van Halen Tour, he met fellow artist Jolino Beserra, and in 1985 he created Byrd/Beserra Studios.
1991 began with David Byrd as Senior Illustrator with Warner Brothers Creative Services, a position he held for 11 years. His responsibilities included style guides for Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbara characters. He oversaw “The Sepia Series” of posters in 1991, which depicted classic Looney Tune episodes in brown tones, to give them a classic look. Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century, the Fudd opera Rabbit of Seville, and Tweety and Sylvester in Birds Anonymous. In 1992, The Looney Tunes Classics calendar was designed with Academy Award winning cartoons from the 40’s and 50’s. In 1993 he produced a series of covers for licensees to use, of the cartoon series, Pinky and the Brain. The creation of the Bugs Bunny postage stamp was performed by artists in his department.
The "Masterpiece Series” in 1998 were parodies of famous fine art pieces. A Degas ballet with Bugs Bunny, American Gothic with Porky and Petunia Pig, a recreation of the Lascaux cave paintings featuring The Tasmanian Devil and She-Devil.
During the final years at Warner Brothers, he worked with J.K.
Rowling, writer of the acclaimed Harry Potters series of children’s book, to create style guides for the upcoming film series. He created hundreds of sketches of Diagon Alley, Hogwarts Castle, Dobby the house elf. http://www.david-edward-byrd.com/warners7-6.html
In 2011, the “70-year-old hippie” (as Byrd describes himself) http://www.examiner.com/article/artist-david-edward-byrd-retrospective-presents-one-night-concert-at-the-brand had an exhibit at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale, California titled “The Byrd Show:40 Years of Art & Design” which showcased more than 70 pieces of his work. Byrd was quoted “I will be celebrating not only my first retrospective exhibition in Los Angeles but also my 70th year on Planet Earth and my 50th year as an artist. I feel very blessed to be able to share my long journey as an artist with you all.” http://trps.org/2011/06/09/the-byrd-show-40-years-of-art-design/
Today, David Edward Byrd is still an active in the art field, and co-owner of Byrd/Beserra Studios with his partner of 28 years, Jolino Beserra a mosaic artist. http://www.jolinoarchitecturalmosaics.com/ Their house, a 1928 Spanish bungalow in Silver Lake is an on going project that has been featured in the L.A. Times.
http://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-beserra-byrd-mosaic-photos-photogallery.html
psychedelic art. http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/psychedelic-poster-pioneer-wes-wilson/
A contemporary influence of Dave Edward Byrd, is American illustrator Bob Peak. Peak was commissioned by the US Postal service to design 30 stamps for both 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and the 1984 Winter Olympics and Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Robert Peak is considered the "father of the modern movie poster.” A few of the popular movie posters he designed, My Fair Lady, Superman, Rollerball and my favorite, the first five Star Trek films. http://www.bobpeak.com/about/
David Edward Byrd was born April 4, 1941 and is from Cleveland Tennessee which is located thirty miles outside of Chattanooga Tennessee to the Northeast. He and his family relocated to Miami Beach Florida, where he graduated in 1959 from Miami Beach High School. After high school he attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania where he graduated in 1964 with a BFA (Bachelor of fine Arts) in painting and design and later in 1966 he earned an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in painting and printmaking.
In 1967, along with his art school roommate Peter Nevard he moved to New York City. He helped establish Fantasy Unlimited, a multi-media collective; a 110 acre farm in Port Jervis, New York near the Neversink River. Some clients he, and the six others in the collective, produced artwork work for include Bloomingdale’s, Bill Blass, Boussac of France, Ralph Lauren & Polo, and Clairol. Byrd ran special effects, consisting of smoke, strobe lights and liquid projections for the commercial light shows for the products of their clients. http://www.digplanet.com/wiki/Fantasy_Unlimited
In 1968 David was hired by Bill Graham to work for him at the Fillmore East Ballroom known as “The Church of Rock and Roll”, a former Yiddish vaudeville theater in Manhattan's East Village that Graham transformed into one of the most iconic rock venues of the time. http://untappedcities.com/2014/02/05/history-of-the-fillmore-east-in-the-east-village-as-the-allman-brothers-say-farewell/ In the three years the venue operated, Byrd was the exclusive poster and program designer. He created venue posters for rock legends Jimi Hendrix(which has been voted No.8 as the best rock poster of all-time by Billboard Magazine) http://www.billboardlists.50webs.com/billboard-25-best-rock-posters-of-all-time.html , Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, and The Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead poster looks more like a flyer for a sock hop, than the psychedelic skull icon that they are well known for in later years.
In 1969 he created the "Other" Woodstock poster. The poster he designed had a stain-glass look with cherubs on the outer edge, framing at the center, a nude “Aquarius” pouring water out of an urn. But the town Council of Wallkill New York thought it was obscene, so another poster was designed by Arnold Skolnick, the iconic guitar neck with the Dove on it. The festival would later relocated to Bethel, New York. http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/May-2012/1969-Woodstock-Music-Festival-Two-Posters-on-View-at-Museum-at-Bethel-Woods-in-Bethel-NY/
In 1970 he “stepped out" onto The Great White Way when he formed Yellow Studio, and began his career as a Broadway poster designer. His first Broadway poster was Lanford Wilson’s The Gingham Dog, a drama about and interracial couple’s struggle through the time of racial tension. For the next 20 years he produced many Broadway show posters including Stephen Sondheim’s Follies; (the inspiration for Follies he surround himself with pictures of Marlene Dietrich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBSvk8lLyQU&feature=youtube_gdata_player , Alan Menken's Little Shop of Horrors, and Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Also Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias which Byrd describes the preliminary sketch as “Joan Crawford wearing curlers with a vengeance” http://www.david-edward-byrd.com/theatre7-5.html The produced version had a softer gentler version of a woman in curlers. While not illustrating musical posters, he worked on other New York venues, such as; The Lincoln Center Repertory, Buffalo Arena Stage, and Radio City Music Hall’s Restoration and 50th Anniversary. In 1973, along with many other illustrators, Byrd won a Grammy for album design for The Who's Rock Opera Tommy.
Between 1970-1979 Byrd taught air brushing techniques, illustration, at the School for Visual Arts, and the Pratt Institute in New York. In 1980, two colleagues from from his days at Fillmore East; Chip Monck, and Noel Monk asked him to come to Los Angeles to work with them on the Van Halen World Invasion Tour. He later decided to move from New York, to L.A. He continued his poster illustrations for theatrical venues such as, The Doolittle Theatre, The Pasadena Playhouse, and The Long Beach Civic Light Opera, among many others.
T.V. Guide commissioned him to create portrait covers for their magazine in 1978. Battle Star Galactica, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, The 1988 Winter Olympics, Murder She Wrote are some of the TV shows/major events he produced covers for.
In 1984, he took over as Art Director for The Advocate a national publication of gay news. During his time at The Advocate he oversaw the transition from a tabloid to magazine format.
While working on the Van Halen Tour, he met fellow artist Jolino Beserra, and in 1985 he created Byrd/Beserra Studios.
1991 began with David Byrd as Senior Illustrator with Warner Brothers Creative Services, a position he held for 11 years. His responsibilities included style guides for Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbara characters. He oversaw “The Sepia Series” of posters in 1991, which depicted classic Looney Tune episodes in brown tones, to give them a classic look. Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century, the Fudd opera Rabbit of Seville, and Tweety and Sylvester in Birds Anonymous. In 1992, The Looney Tunes Classics calendar was designed with Academy Award winning cartoons from the 40’s and 50’s. In 1993 he produced a series of covers for licensees to use, of the cartoon series, Pinky and the Brain. The creation of the Bugs Bunny postage stamp was performed by artists in his department.
The "Masterpiece Series” in 1998 were parodies of famous fine art pieces. A Degas ballet with Bugs Bunny, American Gothic with Porky and Petunia Pig, a recreation of the Lascaux cave paintings featuring The Tasmanian Devil and She-Devil.
During the final years at Warner Brothers, he worked with J.K.
Rowling, writer of the acclaimed Harry Potters series of children’s book, to create style guides for the upcoming film series. He created hundreds of sketches of Diagon Alley, Hogwarts Castle, Dobby the house elf. http://www.david-edward-byrd.com/warners7-6.html
In 2011, the “70-year-old hippie” (as Byrd describes himself) http://www.examiner.com/article/artist-david-edward-byrd-retrospective-presents-one-night-concert-at-the-brand had an exhibit at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale, California titled “The Byrd Show:40 Years of Art & Design” which showcased more than 70 pieces of his work. Byrd was quoted “I will be celebrating not only my first retrospective exhibition in Los Angeles but also my 70th year on Planet Earth and my 50th year as an artist. I feel very blessed to be able to share my long journey as an artist with you all.” http://trps.org/2011/06/09/the-byrd-show-40-years-of-art-design/
Today, David Edward Byrd is still an active in the art field, and co-owner of Byrd/Beserra Studios with his partner of 28 years, Jolino Beserra a mosaic artist. http://www.jolinoarchitecturalmosaics.com/ Their house, a 1928 Spanish bungalow in Silver Lake is an on going project that has been featured in the L.A. Times.
http://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-beserra-byrd-mosaic-photos-photogallery.html