from Italy ...

Canadian born, Ms. Bell lives and works in southern Italy, in the agrarian heel region of Puglia. Here she has grown accustomed to the Italian way of life, a life style quite different from the big cities of Vancouver and New York City.

I am drawn like love to this countryside where I live now. Olive trees are woven in the ochre-colored hills that extend from Altamura. The land is raw, brutally honest, and as passionate as the works of Van Gogh. The people of Altamura are tireless workers and the gatekeepers of traditions. I am intrigued by their dark ebony eyes, antique profiles, beautifully weathered skin and stone chiseled hands. A subtle, caramel color saturates my canvases as I paint the very old and the very young - Il Viaggio dela Vita!

With her newest work, Ms. Bell continues documenting, in her own unique way, the traditions of Italian life: young girls at the beach, the class trouble maker, the fisherman's son proud of his catch. Each is a snapshot of a moment where observation and imagination merge in the artist's mind.