Biographical Information
Since graduating from college with a BFA in Graphic Design, Judith Shepelak followed several career paths including a paralegal, a graphic package designer, a landscape designer, and president of a not-for-profit group in support of a local plant conservatory.

In 2005, she rededicated herself to Fine Art. With her intense love of the outdoors and devotion to gardening, creating realistic botanical and landscape pieces was a natural beginning. As she continues to draw, she finds herself creating non-objective or interpretive pieces generally resulting from a deeply emotional response to an event.

She works almost exclusively with colored pencil. She enjoys the simplicity of the medium and the various methods by which it can be manipulated. Colored pencils can appear very much like a drawing, can be transparent like a watercolor, or burnished to a painterly effect. This flexibility allows for unlimited effects and interpretations.

She has won several awards for her artwork and in 2009 received her Signature status in the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA).

Artist Statement
 I’ve always been captivated by nature’s subtleties, its infinite colors and innumerable forms and patterns. My artwork visually interprets what I see and feel whether I find myself intrigued by tree bark, fascinated by clouds or mesmerized by the rippling effects of water. My non-objective work retains a botanical feel with expression directed by color and form.

Juried Shows
2007 CPSA “Explore This 4” Show, LaBrea, CA
CPSA International Show - 2007 (Seattle, WA), 2008 (Bethesda, MD), 2009 (Atlanta, GA), 2010 (Santa Clara, CA)
CPSA Midwest Color Show - 2008 (Detroit, MI), and 2010 (Akron, OH)
The Nature Artist’s Guild Show - 2010, Glen Ellyn, IL

Non-Juried Shows
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 CPSA District Show - Schaumburg, IL
2007,2008, 2010 Oak Park Art League Artist’s Member’s Exhibit - Oak Park, IL
2008 Prairie Title Show - Oak Park, IL
2009 “Expressions of Nature”, Solo Show - Oak Park, IL
2010 “Its Not Just Materials” - Traverse City Art Center, Traverse City, MI
2010 Oak Park Area Art Council Gallery - Solo Show “Landscapes” at Village Hall, Oak Park, IL
2011 Oak Park Conservatory, Solo Show- “Botanicals”, Oak Park, IL

Awards
2007 Mona Lynch Memorial Award for Excellence - “Reflections at Sunset”
2008 Award for Excellence - “Darfur”
2008 Honorable Mention - “New York City Park”
2010 2nd Place - “Darfur”
2010 Honorable Mention - “A Young Mother’s Final Dream”
2010 2nd Place - “Lady on Display”

Gallery Representation
Mullaly’s 128 Studio & Gallery- Elk Rapids, Michigan                 
Marion Street Gallery, 115 N. Marion St., Oak Park, IL 60301