Julie Bell

Julie Bell (born October 21, 1958) is an American fine artist, illustrator, photographer, bodybuilder and wildlife painter. Bell is also a fantasy artist and a representative of the heroic fantasy and fantastic realism genres. Bell has won Chesley Awards and was the designer of the Dragons of Destiny series. She also won first place awards in the Art Renewal Center's International Salon and was named as a Living Master.[2]

Not to be confused with Julia Bell.
Julie Bell
Bell in April 2005
Born (1958-10-21) October 21, 1958
Beaumont, Texas, U.S.[1]
Websitejuliebell.com

Early life

Julie Bell was born on October 21, 1958 in Beaumont, Texas. She attended six schools studying painting and drawing. In her youth, she was fond of bodybuilding. She took part in various competitions and received national recognition, which later influenced her to portray beautiful and muscular women.

In 1978, Bell married scientist and writer Donald E. Palumbo. During this marriage, she gave birth to two sons, Anthony and David Palumbo, who subsequently also became professional artists. In 1989, she met Boris Vallejo, whom later she married.

Career

Bell also turned her attention to painting wildlife. In the 2014 Art Renewal Center's International Salon, she won seven awards and two purchase awards, including 1st and 3rd in the Animal Category and 1st place in the Imaginative Realism Category. In November 2015, she was awarded the Mountain Oyster Club's Denise McCalla Memorial Top Choice Award. She was named a Living Master by the Art Renewal Center.[3]

When I'm painting animals with all their beauty and wild nature, I experience the kind of at-one-with-the-universe feeling described by people who meditate.  It's both soothing and exciting, the way nature itself is.  I know without a doubt that this is what I was meant to do.[3]

Bell shares her studio in Pennsylvania with her husband, Boris Vallejo.

Bell has painted the cover illustrations of more than 100 fantasy and science fiction books and magazines since 1990, including more than 90 in the 20 years to 2009.[4] 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.[5] She designed the 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.

She 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", the album Hang Cool Teddy Bear, and the album "Crossroads".

In 2007, Bell and Vallejo illustrated the poster for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters.[6]

Honors
  • Art Renewal Center, multiple 1st place awards & honorable mentions.[7]

Books
  • The Julie Bell Portfolio (1994)
  • Hard Curves: The Fantasy Art of Julie Bell (1995), with Hank Rose and Nigel Suckling
  • Soft As Steel: The Art of Julie Bell (1999), with Brian Aldiss and Suckling
  • Titans: The Heroic Visions of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell (2000), with Suckling, Bell, and Vallejo; also issued 2000 with main title Superheroes
  • Sketchbook (2001), with Suckling, Bell, and Vallejo
  • Twin Visions (2002), with Bell and Vallejo
  • Fantasy Workshop: A Practical Guide: The Painting Techniques of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell (2003), with Bell and Vallejo
  • Boris Vallejo/Julie Bell: The Ultimate Collection (2005), with Suckling, Bell, and Vallejo
  • The Fantasy of Flowers (2006), with Bell and Vallejo
  • The Fabulous Women of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell (2006), with David Palumbo, Anthony Palumbo, Bell, and Vallejo
  • Imaginistix: The Art of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell (2007), with Palumbo, Palumbo, Bell, and Vallejo
  • Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell: The Ultimate illustrations (2009), with Bell and Vallejo
  • Dreamland: The Fantastic Worlds of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell (2014), with Bell and Vallejo

References
  1. "Bell, Julie". Revised October 22, 2014. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (sf-encyclopedia.com). Retrieved 2014-12-19. Entry by 'GW', Gary Westfahl.
  2. "Earthly, Otherworldly Themes Collide, Captivate In Lush Paintings Of Artist Who Awed Marvel Comics". forbes.com. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  3. "About Julie Bell". Julie Bell. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  4. Julie Bell at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  5. "Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe for Game Gear (1991)". MobyGames.com. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  6. "King of the Mountain". Posterwire.com. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  7. "Speak Softly by Julie Bell". Artrenewalcenter.org. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
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