Richard Sheppard

Richard Sheppard is a freelance illustrator, fine artist, and writer. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Academy of Art University in San Francisco and a Bachelor of Arts in painting and drawing from Arizona State University. Over the years Richard has illustrated hundreds of books, theater posters, and product labels for companies such as Tortilla Factory, Ghirardelli Chocolate, KPMG, Levi Strauss & Co. and Marin Cheese Company.

Richard was a founding board member of Healdsburg Center for the Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating, inspiring and promoting the arts. He has offered creative services for organizations including the Charles M. Schulz Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Sonoma County, and most recently, the Humane Society.

Sketching and painting plein air is now one of Richard’s primary loves but he originally found sketching in public difficult. In the fall of 2009 Richard spent three weeks drawing and painting in Greece where he overcame this fear. Upon his return, he wrote and illustrated “The Artist on the Road: Impressions of Greece,” to help others get over their fears. 

In 2009 Richard joined the world renowned group Urban Sketchers as a correspondent and more recently, a workshop instructor. He currently teaches Beginning Watercolor and Sketching classes at Oak Park Arts League (OPAL) and has exhibited his work at galleries and festivals across the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago.