Randy "Birdy" Crisologo Information

Illustrator
Calgary, AB

Biography:
Randy Crisologo, also known as Birdy, is a Calgary based freelance illustrator whose works mainly gather elements from Anime & Fantasy & Video Game culture. Since first being introduced to anime in his childhood years, he began growing an interest in gaining some sort of individual super ability just like in the cartoons. With that being said he has a small history on YouTube from his initial Hair Tutorials to his illustrations and paintings. Graduating from The Alberta College of Art & Design in 2014, he immediately continued showing people that art making was the perfect outlet for anyone with an open mind and a strong will, but it wasn't until recently that a certain series of "satirical adaptations" made his moniker "itsbirdy" known throughout the internet. Instagram has now become his main platform for sharing his doings. Many of his drawings are but a small homage to the wonderment that is our childhood.

"The content of my art will always revolve around my current obsessive interests, commonly drawing influences from fairy tales and video games to the 'Otaku' subculture of Japan. My practice is meant to contextualize novelty in a variety of mediums and styles, and although acrylic will forever be my mainstay, a lot of the themes I choose focuses on Anime shows and Manga comics. From time to time, I jump between mediums to experience new processes that I find interesting, this means that I know there is valuable information that I can learn from it by taking the time to practice the particular style. This experimentation between varying mediums gives me the knowledge to figure out where I can take my art next. Most of my drawings are things I draw for the experience more as appose to the finished product, that's why I like to journalize my process with pictures and videos that I'd post on my social media sites. I like the idea of being able to share my ideas on a global scale with just the click of a button.

A reoccurring theme in my original bodies of work mainly focuses on the separation of worlds. Imagine being able to lose yourself in an adventure. That's what every drawing has become to me. A visual experience that is introduced to the mind in insurmountable dosages is more likely to linger within the mind for a prolonged period of time, so I try to offer a generous amount of information in an extravagant and unrestrained manner through layers. This controlled spontaneity will be seen in almost all of my contour line sketches. I try to bring that same excessive detailing into my paintings as well. One main concept that can be found in a lot of my works is the conscious placement of an external entity in an ethereal atmosphere. I relate this sense of isolation as a form of desperation of separation. When an object is appropriated outside of its natural setting, the acknowledgement of abnormality becomes notable, thus the experience becomes much more memorable and that object becomes somewhat surreal, bringing attention to hidden distinctive qualities."