Julie Bell

 

 

Julie Bell [born October 21, 1958] is an American painter. A fantasy artist and wildlife artist, she is a former bodybuilder and fantasy model for her second husband, painter Boris Vallejo.

Bell was born in Beaumont, Texas. She married Donald E. Palumbo, an academic and "future science fiction scholar" with whom she moved many times. They had two sons, Anthony and David Palumbo, who are both artists. "Her life changed forever when she met Vallejo in 1989 and successively became his model, art student, and wife following her divorce from Palumbo.

Julie Bell has painted the cover illustrations of approximately 100 fantasy and science fiction books and magazines since 1990, including more than 90 in the 20 years to 2009. In the early 1990s, she illustrated painted covers for video games as well as best-selling trading cards for the superheroes of Marvel and DC. A cover art image from the Sega Game Gear video game Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe would depict the semi-barbaric world that the game took place in; thus being entitled Savage Land by Bell herself. She designed the award-winning Dragons of Destiny sculpture series, Mistress of the Dragon's Realm dagger series, as well as the Temptation Rides sculpture series produced by The Franklin Mint.

Julie and her second husband, Boris Vallejo, have done many paintings for advertising campaigns such as Nike, Inc., Coca-Cola and Toyota. She has painted the covers for two albums by musician, Meat Loaf: Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose and Hang Cool Teddy Bear.

Julie was the winner of the Chesley Award for Artistic Achievement in 2008. She also came first in animal category in the Art Renewal Center's 2011-2012 International Salon with the painting "Order of Wolves".

She also designed the cover art for Meat Loaf's albums Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose and its first single "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and the album Hang Cool Teddy Bear.

In 2007, Bell and Vallejo illustrated the poster for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters.

A yearly calendar of 13 paintings by Bell and Vallejo is produced by Workman Publishing.

Bell and Vallejo reside in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She has two sons, Anthony Palumbo and David Palumbo, both of whom are also professional painters.

Bell is a former nationally ranked competitive bodybuilder.

source: wikipedia