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The stars were my best friends. The air was full of legends and phantoms, full of mythical and fairytale creatures, which suddenly flew away over the roof, so that one was at one with firmament.

— Marc Chagall

Taya Bell was born in Kazakhstan. She completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Elementary and Language Education. After a few years of teaching, Taya and her family began experiencing the joys and challenges of working and living in various countries in Central Asia, Africa, and Europe. During these travels, she found herself increasingly drawn to painting.

As a child, Taya often drew and painted, but the travels brought changes. She wanted to capture the beauty of places and people. Painting grew to be her greatest passion. A decision to get a serious professional art education came while in Ethiopia in 2010.

After receiving a Fine Arts degree in ‘Academic Drawing and Painting’ in Florence, Italy, she moved to Latvia to pursue a career of a painter. In Riga she opened a studio and began teaching drawing, composition, and oil painting.

Importantly, she was offered a solo exhibition for her work at the Rezekne Art Center of Latvia and was chosen as one of the top Latvian artists for a major exhibition at the Mark Rothko Museum and Art Center in 2018.

In 2019, Taya moved with her husband to Ecuador. They live in a small, beautiful Andean town, where she continues to build her skills and portfolio.

Press

2021 Wall Calendar, 5782 (2022), Chabad Riga, Latvia (illustrated)
2020 Rosh Hashanah, L’Chaim International Jewish News (Magazine Cover)
2018 Mark Rothko Museum, Exhibition Catalogue, Daugavpils, Latvia
2018 GORS Art Magazine, January-issue, Rezekne, Latvia
2017 “My Secret Double”, Exhibition Catalogue, Riga, Latvia

Education

2013 – 2016 Russian Academy of Art, Florence, Italy
2010 -2011 Angel Academy of Art, Florence, Italy

Workshops

2017 Art EST, Plenair, Tartu, Estonia.
2017 Birini Pils, Latvian Artist Plenair
2015 N. Blokhin, Portrait and Figure Painting, Repin Academy of Art, St.Petersburg, Russia
2015 Anatomy of the Nude Figure, Drawing, Repin Academy of Art, St.Petersburg, Russia
2015 S.Terekhina, Female Portrait in Oil, Florence, Italy
2015 S.Chubirko, Figure in Costume, Drawing, Florence, Italy
2014 S.Terekhina, Landscape, Fiuggi, Italy
2013 A. Bakhtin, Human Anatomy in Dynamic”, Florence, Italy
2011 A. Markovic, Still life with Limited Palette, Florence, Italy
2010 M.Correia, Sight-Seeing Figure Sketching, Atelier AA, Florence, Italy
2008 M.Harris, Contemporary Seascape and Wild Life, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2007 R. Kleijer, Still Life Drawing and Composition, Tashkent, UZ

Solo and Group Shows

2020 Modern Artists, Art Studio, St.Petersburg, Russia.
2019 “My Secret Double”, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
2018 100 in Latvian Art Show, Mark Rothko Art Center, Daugavpils, LV
2018 “From where comes joy”, Solo Exhibition, Rezekne, LV
2018 Plein Air, Tartu, Estonia
2017 “The Beauty of Landscape”, Birini Palace, Latvia
2017 “My Secret Double”, Riga Congress House Art Hall, Latvia
2016 “Maestro, Teacher, Student”, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence, Italy
2014 “Waters of Fiuggi”, Fiuggi Terme Auditorium, Italy
2010 “Master Bargue and Plates”, Angel Academy Atelier, Italy
2008 “Contemporary Nature”, ‘Sheraton Art Hall’, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia