Barbara Shapokas | The Art Studio
From the Carnegie Mellon Fine Arts Program to a BFA from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Barbara Shapokas is the recipient of many coveted design awards. She has taught at Pratt Institute and Parsons School of Design, and has lectured at the Society of Illustrators, in addition to corporate art director assignments at NBC and Simon & Schuster.
Whether the assignment involved corporate images, marketing savvy, or ad formats, Barbara brought a natural aesthetic consciousness to her award-winning work. Her clientele, spanning over three decades, included not only the publishing industry, major networks, fashion, and financial services, but also individuals who needed strong communication devices to increase their visibility.
Barbara’s “Blackout” poster was chosen by the Museum of Modern Art for sale and distribution, and her accompanying t-shirt was featured in the special Life Magazine issue documenting “The 70s”. She held the position of Creative Director while heading a new design agency at Cardinal Communications Group, Inc. in New York City. She freelanced as a creative director and designer there before moving to Massachusetts in 2011. She currently resides with her husband in Boxborough.
Artist’s Statement
I began observing the world while sitting at my father’s desk at the age of three. My first response was to attempt to draw a fence “going away”, a child’s way of observing perspective. As a young artist, it was, at first, simple pencil drawings which led to more complex renderings as an art student, then to spontaneous abstracts as a maturing artist, and today, the adventure of recording nature’s disappearing landscapes with pastels or oils.
There is an avalanche of colors, even in the mist of a foggy day. The precious essence of the moment is what I want to convey—its luminosity and stunning colors that can be presented in a flash. Responding to the grace and poetry that is found in the most simple of landscapes is an incentive to pick up my pastels. Although I also paint in oils and acrylics, I find that pastels are a highly responsive and practical medium.
From celebrating a single color to rejoicing in the richness of a medium’s large vocabulary of pigments, I hope to give the viewer a sense of calm and wonder with my work.
Barbara’s website
Whether the assignment involved corporate images, marketing savvy, or ad formats, Barbara brought a natural aesthetic consciousness to her award-winning work. Her clientele, spanning over three decades, included not only the publishing industry, major networks, fashion, and financial services, but also individuals who needed strong communication devices to increase their visibility.
Barbara’s “Blackout” poster was chosen by the Museum of Modern Art for sale and distribution, and her accompanying t-shirt was featured in the special Life Magazine issue documenting “The 70s”. She held the position of Creative Director while heading a new design agency at Cardinal Communications Group, Inc. in New York City. She freelanced as a creative director and designer there before moving to Massachusetts in 2011. She currently resides with her husband in Boxborough.
Artist’s Statement
I began observing the world while sitting at my father’s desk at the age of three. My first response was to attempt to draw a fence “going away”, a child’s way of observing perspective. As a young artist, it was, at first, simple pencil drawings which led to more complex renderings as an art student, then to spontaneous abstracts as a maturing artist, and today, the adventure of recording nature’s disappearing landscapes with pastels or oils.
There is an avalanche of colors, even in the mist of a foggy day. The precious essence of the moment is what I want to convey—its luminosity and stunning colors that can be presented in a flash. Responding to the grace and poetry that is found in the most simple of landscapes is an incentive to pick up my pastels. Although I also paint in oils and acrylics, I find that pastels are a highly responsive and practical medium.
From celebrating a single color to rejoicing in the richness of a medium’s large vocabulary of pigments, I hope to give the viewer a sense of calm and wonder with my work.
Barbara’s website