JULIE BELL

Julie Bell is the product of several lives, all of which add up to the images you find in this retrospective calendar. Julie read comics long before she began to draw her fantasy figures. She was a professional body builder for five years and garnered awards and accolades for both her strength and stamina. She is married to Boris Vallejo one of the most renowned illustrators in the fantasy genre, and she is the mother of two sons. Lastly, and perhaps most essentially, she is a warm, intelligent, down-to-earth woman originally from Texas. Knowing all of this, things start to make sense.

A lot of people, especially women, are taught to be humble. But if something is part of you, I don't believe it should be suppressed.

Julle's style, subject matter, and overall philosophy reflect her whole life like a road map. The characters in her paintings portray a heroism and strength that Julie feels is the answer to the very human need for self-mastery and control over our environment. Their muscular bodies trace directly back to her years as an award-winning body builder, a chapter in her life during which she gained a new dimension of appreciation for the human form and the glorious interaction of muscles in any given movement. This experience, combined with years of formal training in drawing the human figure, yield dynamic and fleshedout results!

Power can be used either to hurt or to create so you have to think of the people around you. But we also have a responsibility to ourselves. No one should be a doormat.

Critics of Julie Bell's art sometimes take issue with her portrayal of women-her "soft as steel" beauties-claiming they misrepresent women. Julie looks at it from a different angle. By capturing the strength and empowerment of women-of all people-along with their beauty and sensuousness, Julie emphasizes person security and self-containment. A person who is secure with herself does not behave self-destructively or in ways that are hurtful to others.

Is there really a marketfor this kind of work? Wouldn't you like to do something like Norman Rockwell?

A reasonable question fron Julie Bell's father, but Julie takes this sort of concerned doubt in confident stride. Although at the beginning of her journey as an artist she never dreamed the world would be so taken with her depiction of fantasy, she now realizes that this genre is the true expression of her heart, and one that is symbolic, powerful, and, meaningful to many people. When she met Boris Vallejo in 1989 through their mutual interest in body building, Julie turned down what now seems an inevitable path. Boris, one of the most famous artists in the Fantasy Art genre, became not only her life partner, but also her mentor and greatest supporter-two critical pieces for any developing artist.

Boris and I agree in so many of the same things-why shouldn't our art be similar as well?

While there are similarities to Julie Bell's and Boris Vallejo's art (Boris was Julie's first teacher in oil painting and she considers his style to be the best in the world-a sentiment reflected in her emulation of it), there are also notable differences. These differences are a great attraction to clients, who often come up with project the big cats, the ideas for which the two artists are asked to paint their own version of the same character or theme; the two pieces are then isplayed side by side, which provides the client with similar but alternative ideas on the same subject. Julie an Boris enjoy this kind of challenge, which they experience as both a competitive and collaborative experience. Because they both stay in great shape through, body bulding, they also use each other as models for their paintings. In the painting, Dangerous Kiss, which appears in this calendar, the two of them posed together.

The appreciation and demand for Julie's art is so great that it is clear that she has found the ideal realm in which to exercise and expand the boundaries of her imagination. She is presently stretching the fantasy realm to include children's books and wildlife art, areas greatly enhanced by her magical touch. In the past ten years, Julie's art has been published in several collections of her work (The Julie Bell Portfolio, Hard Curves, and the upcoming Soft As Steel) on book covers, trading cards, video game covers, posters and many other products. She is also working with the Franklin Mint to design a line of collectible fantasy daggers, jewelry, sculptures, and wall plates.

Paintinng metal has really been good for me. It's opened doors that might otherwise have remained shut.

The term "metal flesh" describes one aspect of Julie's use of a metallic effect. The strength of steel is tempered by the implied suppleness of the skin of the characters, be it man woman or beast. At the same time, the vulnerability of flesh takes on the power and imperviousness of polished metal. They come together in a seemingly impossible mix and take on an added realism through their context-their background and the presence of other characters. The ability to produce this affect is a gift, one that comes very naturally to Julie, With Boris' initial advice on how to use metal, Julie, with her curious logic/no-logic approach, expanded the medium into a personal statement of contrast.

Whatever it is that you want to do, just START somewbere-anywhere!-and your way. Ride the wave. Keep going. Don't even think about your destination. It may not be where you thought it would be.

Julie Bell 07/99