We were lucky to catch up with Bela Fidel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Bela, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I always loved music and literature. So it was natural to get a B.A. in English and Spanish Literature from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Painting or the visual arts were not in my radar. I, therefore, was very surprised to one day find myself painting a small 5×7 that came out of nowhere. I did not reflect on this happenstance nor did I take it seriously. A couple of years later, back in Brazil, I decided to take art classes. No plan, no ambition – I just wanted to learn how to paint. By a series of synchronicities I found the right instructor and took regular classes for 3 years. A couple of paintings were sold fresh off the easel by guests to the school. More paintings were sold when the instructor organized a small gallery show for the students. I was pleased but still no plans, no ambitions. This went on for about 10 years. I was now living in Los Angeles, showing my work at Beverly Hills Fairs and other galleries in town.
I had a regular job and painted on Sundays. One day I “suddenly” realized that if I did not dedicate my life to painting I would not be centered, I would be going against my very core.
And I’ve never stopped. It’s been over 50 years of dedication to the craft, highs and lows, but never the absence of art-making.

Bela, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I cannot say that I got into my discipline or business. I think IT got into me. From loving music and books, wanting to be a writer some day, I turned out to be a visual artist. I am after the elusive Holy Grail: the purest expression of my Self. As the banner on my website says, “I want to look at my paintings and see my Self in the mirror”. Some days this happens – perhaps not the whole painting but snippets, smaller areas that reflect some part of my essence. Occasionally, a whole painting feels like that and it’s like I found my Camelot. At the same time, I believe that we share many traits in our humanity and if I succeed in expressing some of mine, my work will resonate with others as well. No man is an island.

It is my experience that many collectors who have purchased my work are still deriving a great deal of pleasure from it many years later, and that is very gratifying.

My work stands out through its profound fusion of cultural diversity and rich textural techniques. Influenced by my experiences living in Brazil, Israel, and the U.S., my work embodies layers of memory, reflecting both the complexity of my personal journey and the cultures that shaped my perspective. I combine oils and mixed media to create textured, layered pieces that invite deeper exploration and emotional connection. These layers and textures reflect the many cultures I have been exposed to. My art captures a balance between complexity and elegance, often achieved through a meticulous process of adding, removing, and manipulating materials to achieve a genuine, expressive, authentic expression.

For the past 28 years I have been teaching painting in oils, acrylics, encaustics and mixed media. I enjoy sharing my experience and my knowledge with art students who are enthusiastic about improving their craft, finding a personal niche in their art, understanding the journey we must follow if we are to grow as people and as artists. Lately I’ve been sharing my thoughts about some aspects of art-making, mindset, the roller coaster that it can be, the excitement of the journey, etc. in articles published in Substack.com as well as my personal blog on fidelabstractoils.com.

Throughout the years I have had a few commissions that deeply resonated with the collectors, enriched their homes and satisfied their desire for elegance and beauty.

Some of the services I offer include suggestions on how to hang a few paintings next to each other in a harmonious and interesting way, how to make the best of wall space, how to frame paintings, etc. I am interested in commissions as well. Fulfilling specific needs and desires of art lovers is a challenge I always welcome. Getting to know collectors more personally, their tastes, visual needs, etc. is an aspect of my career that enriches me every time.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Until 2020, when I took The Creative Visionary Program on-line, my creativity was very dependent on my rational side.
Of course, there were aspects of creativity that were influenced by my intuition but I was not conscious of it. I worked to create a product. Joy was never part of the process.

Creating is a difficult process, no matter how you look at it. It is not all fun and games. But if one relies a great deal on the rational, it becomes exponentially more difficult.

When I took CVP in 2020 I learned about Play and Process. Until then I was not very knowledgeable or even conscious about these two components of creativity. I learned what Play was and what it was for. I understood the importance of Process and that it was not, as I had believed, a waste of time. I also learned that if creating was not joyful, it was not where I wanted to be.

Play, Process, Joy were the ingredients in painting that literally changed my life. I had to make a 360-degree change in my attitude towards creativity, towards my “products”. It was a slow process. I had been painting for over 40 years and these ingredients were not in my radar.

I am still learning to play. It is not easy. I hear that some artists have been learning to play for well over a year and they feel they have not yet mastered this art. Picasso said, “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” Giving in to Process, incorporating it into my practice, has been easier, despite the fact that Play is one of the elements of it. As for creating because it is a joyful process, or to feel joyful while creating – that’s a roller coaster. Some days are better than others. We are complex creatures.

Had I learned about Process, Play and feeling joy in creativity much earlier, my creative life would have been very different; my life in general would have been lighter and happier. Clearly, “the student was not ready” and the teacher appeared for me in 2020 and not in the 70’s.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I was 12 years old I decided I would finish school, get a job, save money and leave Brazil. Which I did, exactly to the last detail, when I was 21. I completed High School and Secretarial School, worked at the Israeli Consulate in Sao Paulo for three years, saved money and in 1965 I boarded a ship for Israel. I enrolled at the Hebrew University and got a job. I managed to be accepted into the Campus dormitories, which was cheaper than renting an apartment.

I completed my B.A. in English and Spanish Literature while holding jobs for about 40 hours a week. After leaving the University I moved from Jerusalem to a suburb of Tel Aviv, and got a full time job.

After 8 1/2 years I decided to go back to Brazil. I got a job and eventually bought an apartment. Along those years I took painting classes regularly. Eight years later I moved to Los Angeles to take an 8-month course in Professional Make Up Artistry. I completed the course and worked very hard for two years (in addition to my 9 to 5 job) to create a professional make-up portfolio. After a few gigs as a make-up artist I realized that I did not have the thick skin needed to survive Hollywood and dropped the whole thing.

In Los Angeles I later met my husband.

This narrative exemplifies my resilience, my conquering fear of the unknown, my pro-active attitude whenever and wherever it is necessary. I continue to be open to possibilities, flexible, resilient, self reliant.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fidelabstractoils.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@fidelbela
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Bela Fidel Fine Art
• Linkedin: www.linkedIn.com/Bela Fidel
• Twitter: https://www.X.com/@bela_fidel
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/Bela Fidel
• Other: www.pinterest.com/Bela Fidel Fine Art

Image Credits

All images are of my own paintings.