Star Trek artist Keith Birdsong
There have been a number of tributes to acclaimed Star Trek artist Keith Birdsong, renowned for his photorealistic renderings of Star Trek actors, who passed away on 4th June 4 2019, the result of injuries sustained in an earlier car crash. He was 59.
An army veteran, Birdsong created the covers for more than 30 Star Trek novels, including Sarek, All Good Things…, Q-Squared, Time’s Enemy and The Final Fury, as well as for the reference book, Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future.
Art by Keith Birdsong for Star Trek: The Better Man
Art by Keith Birdsong for Star Trek: Ghost Walker
Art by Keith Birdsong for Star Trek: Shell Game
Art by Keith Birdsong for Star Trek: Death Count
He also painted portraits of Kirk, Spock and McCoy for the postal envelopes commissioned to celebrate Star Trek‘s 25th anniversary and, for years, painted many pieces displayed and sold by Lightspeed Fine Art at Star Trek Las Vegas and elsewhere.
Star Trek – The Five Captains Trading Places by Keith Birdsong
In 2018, Birdsong suffered a stroke that resulted in memory loss and impaired vision. Although he was told he probably wouldn’t draw again, Birdsong’s vision began improving and he was able to resume his illustrative pastime.
Our sympathies to family and friends at this time.
• Keith Birdsong 14th July 1959 – 4th June 2019 | Services are scheduled at 2.00pm 14th June — a month before what would have been his 60th birthday — at Christian Chapel in Muskogee, 4043, Chandler Road
WEB LINKS
• Scoop! encompasses Keith Birdsong’s wider career as an artist
• Keith Birdsong work on ArtNet
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Art and Illustration, downthetubes News, Features, Obituaries, Other Worlds, Star Trek