ON MICHAEL BELL

Born April 10th, on his Mother's birthday, Michael Bell grew up with a magical gift and an intense passion for the visual arts. Bell experienced success early in his artistic career, winning 1st Place at the age of five in his first juried art exhibition. As an emerging young artist Michael has spent a lot of his life in and around New York City, studying art with his grandmother, a self-taught artist from Lyndhurst, NJ. It was during this time period Bell began exploring life visually through his thematic paintings.

           

Michael Bell has painted, by commission, some of the most famous people of our time, including cast members from HBO's The Sopranos, CSI: Miami, Law & Order, movies such as Goodfellas and A Bronx Tale and Best-Selling Authors, such as Georgia Durante. Backed by an impressive list of solid credentials and celebrity clientele, Bell has become quite well known as a "Celebrity Artist to the Stars" and has steadily become just as famous as many of the celebrities he has portrayed. In 2005, Bell was chosen as IonOne Magazine's featured "Celebrity Artist" to represent the USA. Bell is one of America's most important figurative painters working today and is represented by GALLERIA RED™, selling his artwork throughout the country and worldwide. Click to view the following video clips on Michael Bell below.

           

Bell has also plays a vital role in pioneering the development of the Visual Journaling movement, giving workshops throughout the country. Bell is a Domestic Violence Activist, and donates his time and art to numerous domestic violence charity benefits that have helped raise awareness and thousands of dollars from his painting sales. On October 1, 2005, Michael Bell received the Good Shepherd Community Service Award at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. On February 10, 2007 Bell was the featured Celebrity Artist at the World’s second annual For the Love of Chocolate benefit in Chicago. Bell continues to make numerous appearances with cast members from HBO's "The Sopranos." Bell also is in the process of launching a major motion picture based on his NEW "TICKET TO RIDE™" Series, headed in pre-production this year.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

"Painting, for me, is a dynamic process of self-exploration and a constructive way to give form and meaningful expression to an experience. I investigate problems on a personal and intuitive level. It’s the journey that constantly fuels my mind. It's a timeless, cinematic world where stories are born...where the artist is the ultimate storyteller. I’m also concerned with the interconnections between my works and how they are presented; therefore I present many of my narrative works of art together as a thematic series.

My subject matter ranges from painting contemporary portraits and celebrities in today’s visual culture to metaphorical objects as storytellers on larger than life-sized canvases. Celebrities bring a sense of decadence and iconic theatricality to my work, while working with objects as metaphors often extends meaning deep within my work on a psychological level. The final product becomes a passionate reflection of all that was revealed to me about my subjects during intense moments of personal clarity.

All I am is what I create. It's my blessing to share with the world." - Michael Bell