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Boris Vallejo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boris Vallejo (born January 8, 1941 in Lima, Peru) is an American painter. He emigrated to the United States in 1964, and currently resides in Allentown in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. He frequently works with his wife, painter and model Julie Bell.
Vallejo works almost exclusively in the fantasy and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have graced the covers of dozens of science fiction paperbacks and are featured in a series of best-selling glossy calendars. Subjects of his paintings are typically gods, monsters, and well-muscled male and female barbarians engaged in battle. Some of his male figures were modeled by Vallejo himself, and many of his later female characters were modeled by his wife. His latest works still retain heavy fantasy elements, but lean more towards the erotic rather than pure fantasy themes.
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Vallejo is currently married to fellow artist Julie Bell, whose artistic style is very similar to Vallejo's. He has two children from a previous marriage to artist and writer Doris Vallejo; his son, Dorian Vallejo, also has produced work in the fantasy genre. His daughter Maya Vallejo is a professional photographer.
Vallejo commenced painting at the age of thirteen, and had his first illustration job at the age of sixteen. After emigrating to the United States in 1964, he quickly garnered a fan following from his illustrations of Tarzan, Conan The Barbarian, and various other fantasy characters. This led to commissions for movie poster illustration, advertisement illustration, and artwork for various collectibles - including Franklin Mint paraphernalia, trading cards, and sculpture. Along with Bell, Vallejo presents his artwork in an annual calendar and various books.
Vallejo's preferred artistic medium is oil paint on board, and has previously used digital media to combine discrete images to form composite images. Preparatory works are pencil or ink sketches, which has been displayed in the book Sketchbook. He and Julie Bell have worked on collaborative artworks together, in which they sign the artwork "Boris and Julie" or "Julie and Boris".
Vallejo has created film posters for numerous fantasy and action productions, including Barbarella (1968), Knightriders (1981), Q (1982), and Barbarian Queen (1985). He has also illustrated posters for comedies, notably National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), European Vacation (1985), and Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters (2007), co-created with Bell.[1]
Several books of collections of his works are available, such as:
- Dreams: The Art of Boris Vallejo (1999)
- Mirage (1997)
- Fantasy Art Techniques (1985)
- The Fantastic Art of Boris Vallejo (1980)