BG Arts

From the moment she first carried her easel into the quiet woods as a child, Barbara Gagel knew art would be her lifelong companion. One of her earliest creations—a painting of a solitary tree—became the beginning of a journey fueled by curiosity, color, and the poetry of the natural world. Nature was her first muse; words soon became her second. Barbara often describes her creative process as “dancing with the stars at night,” guided by emotion, imagination, and the stories waiting beneath the surface of every scene.

Barbara pursued formal training at the Massachusetts College of Art, followed by graduate study at the University of Hawai‘i, where her artistic voice deepened through exposure to diverse landscapes, cultures, and perspectives.

For more than 40 years, she shared her passion with others as an art educator, teaching students of all ages—from wide-eyed primary school beginners to emerging adult artists refining their technique. Her classroom was always a place of encouragement, exploration, and discovery.

Today, Barbara continues to create from that same place of wonder that shaped her earliest work—still inspired by nature, still moved by poetry, and quietly chasing the magic that has always lived in the spaces between brushstrokes.