Check Out Bela Fidel’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bela Fidel.

Hi Bela, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As an adolescent I wanted to be a writer. I’ve always been an avid reader and could write reasonably well. However, my adolescent perfectionism never allowed me to start and explore this calling. Many years later, despite not having any special ambition to become an artist, I started taking painting lessons in Brazil. I was very dedicated and worked very hard for many years. Despite selling a painting here and there, I just kept painting for the love of it, to learn the craft, never expecting to make art a career. Until about ten years later, around the late 70’s, when I realized that without Art I would not. be centered, could not be whole. Having a career in Art, though, was continued to be secondary to becoming a better artist.

And as life goes, one day you wake up and you find yourself at a certain place or level in whatever career, vocation or calling you were answering to.
I have been a professional, full-time painter for well over two decades. I have also been teaching art in its various modalities and styles for as long. Teaching brings me a great deal of pleasure. Creating work that resonates with people’s humanity, emotions and aesthetics has also been exceedingly gratifying.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road is never smooth. That is part of the human condition.

I have lived in three different countries and every beginning in a new environment is fret with struggles. I always needed to work for a living so painting was a weekend activity. Getting used to a new culture and finding my place in it always affected my painting, as these conditions are wont to do. In a way, apart from contending with the craft itself, I was bringing the struggles related to cultural and financial adaptation to my creative work. That was an interesting challenge. But it helped me build resilience. Eventually the challenges themselves helped me separate my painting from the daily concerns of survival and adaptation and, finally, become independent of exterior conditions (as much as possible) when expressing my Self on canvas.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As an artist, my journey is one of constant evolution—often marked by periods of uncertainty and self-reflection. My confidence in my work ebbs and flows, and there are moments when I feel lost, unsure of what to create or where to go next. Yet, it is in these moments of ambiguity that I find the freedom to explore new possibilities.

While my work is influenced by the New York School: Motherwell’s boldness, Joan Mitchell’s freedom, and Frankenthaler’s inventiveness, my process is uniquely shaped by this uncertainty. The tension between knowing and not knowing, between planning and improvisation, is where I find the true essence of my expression. I allow myself to embrace the unpredictability of creation, understanding that it is through the ebbs and flows of confidence and vision that my voice continues to emerge. In the end, my work is not only about the final piece but about the honesty and vulnerability woven into every brushstroke, color, and mark.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I feel that the most important characteristics to my success is confidence and working consistently. While confidence may ebb and flow, a consistent schedule of work, exploration and risk-taking is always a must.

Pricing:

• Pricing varies with each piece.

Contact Info:

• Website: fidelabstractoils.com and belafidelart.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/@fidelbela
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/belafidelfineart
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bela-fidel-9171113b/
• Twitter: www.X.com/@bela_fidel
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/BelaFidel
• Other: www.pinterest.com/BelaFidelFineArt