George Shipperley

George Shipperley is an impressionist artist who emphasizes originality, creativity, and color. His preferred mediums are oil pastel and oil stick. George is also an art instructor and the first awarded signature member of the Oil Pastel Society. His art can be viewed at fine art shows in the Chicago metropolitan and Fox Valley areas, by appointment at Shipperley Studios in Aurora, Illinois, and at galleries in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

George resides in Aurora, Illinois, where in 1958 he met and married his lovely wife, Lois, and where the two of them raised three beautiful daughters and started a business together. It is also where George discovered and developed his love for art.

As a young adult, George served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany, where he and his wife resided for two and a half years. Upon leaving the service, George and Lois returned to Aurora, Illinois, and George pursued a 33-years career in sales with an international manufacturing company. While working in sales, George and Lois opened Henrich Art Gallery and Custom Frame Shop in Aurora, Illinois, which allowed George to fulfill a longtime aspiration of his. The gallery closed in 2011 after 34 years of success. After his retirement from sales in 1994, George began studying art and soon emerged as a leading artist among his peers. Art quickly evolved into a second career that has repeatedly brought joy and fulfillment to George’s life. George never ceases to feel inspired to create, and his passion and appreciation for art continues to grow each year.

Several years ago I came upon a statement by a famous artist that reminded me so much about myself. His words struck me, for so often I experienced the same transformation as I worked through a painting. Rarely do they end up as perceived, because a painting will dictate it’s own direction if we allow it to happen.

“I foresee it and yet I hardly ever carry it out as I foresee it. It transforms itself by the actual paint. I don’t in fact know very often what the paint will do, and it does many things which are much better than I could make it do.” -Francis Bacon, 1963

Professional Activities
Art Juror and Judge

Art Instructor - Peninsula School of Art, Fish Creek, WI

2020 Gold Award Winner, Great Lakes Pastel Society,

2015 Finalist in Two Categories, Annual Art Competition,

2014 Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame Inductee

2014 1st Place Winner for Landscape in

2011 2nd Place Winner for Landscape in The Artist Magazine’s 28th Annual Competition

Publications “Familiar Sights That Never Were”, The Artist’s Magazine, July/August 2014

“Competition Spotlight: George Shipperley”,

The Artist's Magazine, Jan/Feb 2011 (View article)
“The Poetry of Trees”, Pastel Journal, Feb 2007 (View article)
International Art Book: 100 Ways to Paint
Favorite Subjects, Vol. 1, How did you paint that?

Palette & Chisel Academy, Chicago, IL (Former Member)
Naperville Art League, Naperville, IL (Former Member)

Education
Coursework at the Art Institute of Chicago
Studied with Ruth Van Sickle Ford, Aurora University
Private tutoring - Marianne Grunwald-Scoggin
Figure Studies at Palette & Chisel Academy, Chicago, IL