Grady Bell

I'm an artist based in the Kansas City area, on both sides of the state line. My first love was portraiture: capturing a person's likeness, or a flash of excitement, happiness, or surprise, usually for an audience of one, or maybe two, who would see what those many hours of practice had produced.

As I grew, so did my art. I gravitated toward illustrating the moments that truly make up a life, and that gave me a new direction for the work I wanted to create. I branched out into many mediums, and the most valuable lesson was learning to work with materials available to artists today that weren't available to earlier generations. My work reflects that. It uses multiple materials, and I appreciate them all.

I've set two objectives for myself as an artist. The first is to create art that is relatable: work in which people see themselves, or recognize moments from their own lives. I want to immortalize the days and events that spark nostalgia, or even just a few joyful memories.