The beachKraft Gallery in Olney, MD will present “Moments”, a special collaborative mother and son art exhibition of watercolor painting and photography by Barbara and Daniel Bell, on view June 3 – June 29, 2025.

the beachKraft StudioGallery of Olney will host an Opening Reception for the artists on Saturday, June 14, 2025 from 5:00pm-7:00pm.

Barbara Bell began her formal training in art while on leave from university teaching. She worked in studio arts at Montgomery College (Rockville) in the 1980s, concentrating on lithography. Before she re-entered the workforce as a teacher in Montgomery County Public Schools, her works hung in numerous local exhibitions. Twenty years later, retirement afforded her time to resume her artwork, and she took up watercolor painting. She studied with the late Leroy Lawson and for the past sixteen years, with nationally recognized watercolorist David R. Daniels. Opening her own studio in 2015, Barbara exhibited in numerous solo and collaborative shows, receiving awards and recognition from the Rockville Art League, the Laurel Art Guild, and the City of Rockville. In 2019, she was awarded signature membership in the Baltimore Watercolor Society. Her work is held in private collections in Washington, New York, Florida, Michigan, and the UK.

In 2009 Barbara became a member of the Foundry Gallery in Washington, DC, joining her son, a fine art photographer, and beginning a collaboration that would continue to the present. Sharing a love for the natural world and an interest in those details and moments in time missed by the casual observer, the two went on photo shoots to nearby but still “wild” locations. Their shared aesthetic resulted in a well-received joint exhibit of Barbara’s watercolors and her son’s photographs in 2011 at the Glenview Mansion in Rockville. More recently, Barbara extended her interest in photography, joining an online group, Project 365, whose members each publish a new photograph every day. When Daniel joined the group, the two continued a virtual collaboration with the exchange of related images. The current exhibit, “Moments,” reflects the growth of their individual skills and shared vision.

Daniel Bell received his first formal training in dark room photography in the early 1990s under the guidance of Penny Umbel, photography teacher at Montgomery County’s Rockville High School. He continued to develop his skills while at Johns Hopkins University and later in New York. Returning to Maryland in 2002, he studied at the Photo Works at Glen Echo and gained representation at the Foundry Gallery (2006 -2009). In addition to three critically well-received solo shows and numerous group shows at the Foundry, his works have hung in many prominent galleries and in local and international exhibitions including Gallery West in Alexandria, The Art League Gallery at the Torpedo Factory , Strathmore’s Annual Juried Exhibition, The Artists’ Gallery of Columbia, FotoWeek DC, Touchstone Gallery, and The Laurel Art League’s Annual Open Juried Exhibition. His works are held in private collections in the DC metropolitan area, Florida, New England and in the UK.

Daniel describes his technique as “careful prints of simple images”. He says that “the last decade has seen a shift in [his] subject matter from the more expansive to the more intimate, but the aesthetic remains largely unchanged.” Daniel feels that “the appeal of the expressive black and white photographicprint is timeless, and that remains the inspiration for everything I do.”

The beachKraft Gallery is excited to host Barbara and Daniel in this special exhibition of watercolor paintings paired with black and white photography.

See “Moments” at the gallery, Tuesday through Sunday, 12 PM to 8 PM. An opening reception will be held for the artists on Saturday, June 14th, 5 PM to 7 PM. Light refreshment will be available to guests. Artist receptions at the gallery are always free to attend.