Keith Birdsong

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Birdsong's cover to the 1997 novel, Star Trek: New Frontier: House of Cards, showing characters from three different Star Trek series.

Keith Birdsong (born in Muskogee, Oklahoma), is an Native American illustrator known best for illustrating covers of Star Trek novels, usually depicting the various actors of the Star Trek television series and movies in a realistic manner.

[edit] Biography

A self taught artist, Birdsong grew up in the small town Muskogee Oklahoma, until the age of 15. He subsequently moved to California, and Texas for a year each. He than moved to Missouri, where he finished school, and got married before joining the United States Army, serving in the 82nd Airborne Division. He did several illustration projects for the army during this time. [1]

Birdsong worked as a journalist before becoming a professional illustrator. [2] His chosen medium is acrylic paint and colored pencil. [3] He has done illustration work for Star Wars, books of the cyberpunk role-playing game Shadowrun, and children's books such as The Halloween Hex: Hi-Tech Howard.

In addition to book covers, Birdsong's work has appeared in films, on collectors' plates for the Hamilton Collection and the Bradford Exchange, and on U.S. postage stamps, including an issuance honoring American Indian dance and six "Celebrate The Century" stamps that commemorated the 1960s.