Michael Bell

Michael Bell
(American artist, b. 1959)

I was born and raised in Torrance, California. It was an idyllic childhood in what was once a small pacific-coast beach town with miles of open fields. In my twenties I moved to Los Angeles; in 2002 I relocated to Palm Desert where I currently reside. 

In 1982 I graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Music/Composition. My daytime career: a full-time systems analyst for a toy corporation, as well as being a part-time music teacher at a private music school. My free time over the years has been occupied by painting, composing/recording music and building acoustic guitars.

I have been painting in acrylics and oils since I was a teenager. During the 1980’s I painted mostly abstract works; during the 1990’s I became more interested in realism, portraiture and landscapes. In 2020 I returned to painting abstract works, using palette knives and oils on canvas, linen and masonite.

BA in Music Composition - UCLA - 1982