Anne Byrd Art

After a massive storm I noticed that the sunflowers in my garden were tangled and falling over, but still blooming and attracting pollinators. This piece is a testament to how in light can shine the brightest in the darkest places.

This piece started with the Tiger Nautilus shell. The Tiger Nautilus takes 10-15 years for reproductive maturity. Do to this, and the fact that they are over harvested for their decorative shells, they are on the endangered species list.

The Tiger Nautilus is native to the Indo-Pacific region. As is the orchid, and the yellow-lipped sea krait shown embracing the floating shell. Together they represent an intricate, fragile, and sometimes brutal mix of biological diversity that is necessary, and therefore must be protected.

In the distance the erupting Krakatoa volcano reminds us that evolution is simultaneously ferocious, beautiful and eternally constant.

The Vervet Monkey is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidaethe. I chose the vervet as the central figure in this piece due to their social and emotional parallels to humans. They create strong social bonds, show adaptive behaviors, and even can exhibit signs of anxiety and depression.

This, to me, was the perfect representation of basic humanity. Here we see the monkey, stoically poised above a the Atropa belladonna (a poisonous plant also known as deadly nightshade) as an attempt to rise above the human impulse for self destructive behavior. The figs and ivy representing knowledge curl around him as his compass tries to point him north. The canary gives him advice and warns him not to lose his way.

While reading about birds I came across a passage that said "the oriole's song is often considered the harbinger of spring."

Here we see an oriole perched atop a pile of dark, ripened fruit, a favorite of these birds. Water droplets drip from a freshly bloomed flower in the primary colors blue, red and yellow. Signifying the color explosion in nature soon to follow.

While seahorses are fish (yes, fish) they are incredibly slow swimmers. As a result they often look as if the are drifting aimlessly with the current. This was the inspiration for this piece.

A Seahorse anchoring itself on coral as the clouds, water and world float on by.

2020

Colored Pencil, India Ink, India Ink Marker on Wood

2019

While researching flora for another project, I discovered that in China the peony was considered the "King of Flowers". It is often seen on decorative items and jewelry. From there, the addition of the black widow as the queen came naturally.

It is my belief that all things are connected somehow. I don't pretend to know why, or how, but I do feel that the answer lies in nature. I created this piece to show reverence to the perpetual beating heart of nature and its constant ebb and flow connecting all things. The sky, the water, the earth and eventually back to us, even if we don't always realize it.

Creating this piece played a crital role in shaping my artistic voice. From here on I desired my work to be a never-ending fusion of flora, fauna, ecosystems, folklore, science and personal connection. A bonding between my human perspective and the natural world.

This piece started with the skull in the center. It is a hartebeest, a species of antelope native to Africa and South Africa. From there I chose other plants and animals native to the region: a green mamba snake, an orange-breasted sunbird, a rock aloe and the brown button spider.

While each of these species may not necessarily interact with each other, they are all important characters in their own respective ecosystems. Wether feeding on another, or being fed on to sustain another, they all serve as a reminder that life and death are cyclical.

This piece was the first in an open series about life feeding on death. The blue mushrooms (Mycena interrupta) spring from the deceased coyote skull. Scenes like this can be seen in lush, damp forest in North America.

This is the second in an open ended series of the life and death cycles of North American forests. A black bear skull is enveloped by wild blackberry brambles as Japanese beetles scour the bramble leaves.

Colored pencil, wax pastel and ink marker

Hearts and eyes have been symbols in art for centuries. The eye of providence, the evil eye, the all seeing eye, the sacred heart, Valentines Day, just to name a few. Putting the two together becomes a beautiful combination of love, luck, and protection that artists having been rendering far before my time. This is simply my interpretation of such a classical theme.

A constantly busy brain was the inspiration for this piece. At times it seems hard to tune the world out and concentrate on what is really worth focusing on. The bees making a home in an hollow skull embody how even after we are gone, the nonsense of the outside sources will persist. Better to let the frenzy go while it's still possible.

Colored Pencil and Wax Pastel on Illustration Board

2017

When I first started showing my work on the road, I fell in love with it. It was simultaneously strange and intimidating, yet coupled with a sense of belonging.

I created this piece to commemorate stepping into the unknown. The dress rises from a travelers suitcase as it opens up to a vastness of possibilities. Three birds, representing the three fates, circle as a hint to the viewer that destiny is never far away.

Colored Pencil and Wax Pastel on Paper

At age eleven I was diagnosed with scoliosis. A trait that I also shared with my mother. By my 20's the scoliosis, combined with herniated and degenerative disc issues, had left me in habitual pain. This piece is a testament to living with chronic pain and the unseen toll it takes upon those suffering with it on a daily basis.

This piece deals with breaking the self inflicted ties that bind us. I found myself at crossroads in life, lead there by my own poor decisions. One day, while sitting out in nature, dragonflies began to swarm as the sun set. It was then that I had a serious conversation with myself, and decided it was time for a change.

Years ago I was driving through the Colorado mountains during a thunderstorm. I was coming back from a show that had, truthfully, been pretty awful. As I was wallowing in my troubles, and questioning my life choices, a deer came out of the woods, shockingly close to my car. We locked eyes for a moment, and then the strangest feeling of calmness and joy came over me. Somehow I knew that everything was going to be alright.

As I sat down to draw the actual piece, I began to think about the trajectory my life was taking. The connections to my past, where I was currently, and where I was headed. I felt the keys on the deer were a perfect representation of that. Past, present and future attached to a sign of hope and endurance.

While not a mother myself, I've always been close to my mom. I wanted to celebrate her, and other mothers, strength, tenderness and resilience with this piece.

The robin guards her eggs nested in the female pelvic bone, a nod to human development. Small though she maybe, she watches over her delicate young with the resolve and maternal instinct of generations before her.

Hand colored dry point print on paper

Hand colored dry point print on paper

Acrylic and colored pencil on illustration board

Colored pencil, pastel and acrylic on hardboard

2012

Colored pencil and ink on paper

Colored pencil and ink on illustration board

Acrylic and Colored Pencil on Illustration Board

2010

Acrylic on Canvas

2009

Acrylic on Illustration Board