Bruce Shingledecker (August 9, 1945 – January 8, 2007) was an American painter.
He was best known for his acrylic paintings of Alaskan wildlife, some of which included glacial silt in the paint for texture. In addition to painting, he was also a composer and musician. Shingledecker was born in

Defiance, Ohio Defiance is a city in and the county seat of Defiance County, Ohio, United States, about southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo and northeast of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in Ohio's northwestern corner. The population was 16,494 at the 2010 United State ...

, where he grew up. Graduating from Defiance High School in 1963, he studied at

Defiance College Defiance College is a private college located in Defiance, Ohio and affiliated with the United Church of Christ. The campus includes eighteen buildings and access to the Thoreau Wildlife Sanctuary. History The college began as Defiance Female ...

, where he played football. He also studied at the Chicago Academy of Art, after which he taught high school for several years. Shingledecker then volunteered for the

United States Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

and was an English instructor at Bansomdet Teachers College (now Ratchaphat University Bansomdet) in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

in 1973 and 1974. Following his Peace Corps service, he taught English in

Yokohama, Japan is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, which is where he met his wife, Kazumi.Crescent-News.com - Beautiful Legacy
/ref> In the late 1980s Shingledecker moved to

Gustavus, Alaska Gustavus (Tlingit language, Lingít: ''Wanachích T’aak Héen'') () is a second-class City (Alaska), city in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska, Hoonah-Angoon Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. The 2020 census population was 655, which r ...

, where he could paint without being disturbed. He received world recognition for his painting "The Sky is Falling" when the National Wildlife Federation chose it for a greeting card. Bruce Shingledecker died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 61 in 2007, while riding his

recumbent bicycle A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons: the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by ba ...

down a snowy highway near his home. He was survived by his wife and two brothers. In 2008 his family donated two of his signed, framed prints to Defiance College and two to the Defiance Public Library.

References

External links

Bruce Shingledecker's Photos

Bruce Shingledecker site

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shingledecker, Bruce 1945 births 2007 deaths Artists from Alaska Defiance College alumni People from Defiance, Ohio Painters from Ohio 20th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American male artists