Art Faculty: John Bell
John M. Bell has been an art professor at Blue Ridge Community College since 1990, offering classes in Drawing, Painting, Design, and Art Appreciation. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his Master of Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) from James Madison University.
His paintings (in oil and acrylic) depict both the natural and the man-made world. Recent works have been inspired by the rapidly disappearing landscape of the Shenandoah Valley, roadside signs, and travels in western Ireland in 2003 and 2005. He has exhibited his paintings throughout Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, and California. Paintings can be viewed online at the BRCC Virtual Gallery. Recent works are on exhibit at the Nichols Gallery in Barboursville, Virginia.
John is BRCC's 2005-6 State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) nominee for the Outstanding Faculty Awards Program, which is the Commonwealth's highest honor for faculty at Virginia's public and private colleges and universities. John is exhibits chairman for Central Shenandoah Arts, a non-profit organization that promotes the visual arts through exhibits, classes, and public lectures. He was awarded an International Artist-in-Residency at the Cill Rialaig Project in County Kerry, Ireland for June of 2005.