Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell: The Ultimate Collection

by Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell

The art of Boris Vallejo is characterised by beautiful maidens, heroic men and fearsome monsters while the work of his wife Julie Bell is famous for a sense of colour and dramatic composition which puts her paintings in a class by themselves. As two of the most acclaimed fantasy artists working today, Boris and Julie have produced art for album covers, trading cards, posters and calendars for (in Boris' case) 30 years - as well as having 15 books of their work published under the Paper Tiger imprint. This book is a collection of all their greatest pieces throughout their careers, while also including some unseen new work. The book is arranged chronologically and divided into three main early, middle and recent art. A narrative accompanies the paintings with full descriptive captions for many of the pieces. The pages are also punctuated by quotes from Boris and Julie's peers in the fantasy art field and fans of their work, who pay homage to their art and comment on how their work has inspired them to become better artists.

Genres: Art, Fantasy, Erotica

192 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2005

About the author

Boris Vallejo is a Peruvian-born American painter. He immigrated to the United States in 1964, and he currently resides in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Vallejo works almost exclusively in the fantasy and erotica genres. His 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 Sword and sorcery gods, monsters, and well-muscled male and female barbarians engaged in battle. His latest works still retain heavy fantasy elements, but lean more towards the erotic rather than pure fantasy themes.

Reviews

[Melisa Ramonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely magnificent. All my favorite illustrations of these two authors in a wonderful compilation. Truly a treasure for future generations n.n

[Jason Waltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boris is phenomenal. Julie not so much, though she had 2 or 3 pieces I enjoyed. This is an awesome display of Boris' work. Only lacks some Conan/SSOC art to be magnificent.

[Konstantine · Rating 4 out of 5]

hell yeah

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful fantasy artwork in the vein of Frazetta. Going through the 70s, 80s, 90s. One critique I have is you can basically tell which decade the painting was done in based on what styles were in vogue at the time which is a bit odd considering these are fantasy paintings. But each figure looks like who would have been in the Playboy centerfold that month. (For example 90s is mostly short hair and skinny figures). It lacks in my opinion the creativity of Frazetta and most paintings look like typical pinup style photo realistic paintings just with wings or a dragon in the background. Still it's all super well done and amazing to look at.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sword and sorcery at its very best. Mythological beasts, fearsome creatures, alluring women... all those illustrations hit you like a broad sword. You don't need any words here. Every picture tells a story. Highly recommended!

[Rudy Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved Boris Vallejo's art but it wasn't until now that I fully appreciated Julie Bell's. Every picture a work of art an illustration that can be stared at for hours. Loved it

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best art here by Julie Bell was Krono and Wolf Rider. The best art by Boris Vallejo was Tattoo and Forever Moments.

[Morcys · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of Mr. Vallejo's best works. I loved it! There will never be another Boris Vallejo.

[Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was a time when Boris Vallejo was one of the 3-4 most important and influential fantasy artists. His covers for Conan and Gor paperbacks as well as his other work in the late 70's and early 80's were the gold standard for fantasy illustration. His work today seems less inspired and more focused on painting musculature rather than telling a story. I have never been a fan of Julie Bell's work, although there are a few paintings included in her latest work showing a different style that separates her from Vallejo and showed she is growing as an artist. I suppose this would be a good book to have if you wanted a summation of both their careers, but personally I'm less interested in this type of art than I was as a teenager and I'll head back to look at some of Vallejo's earlier books if I want to travel down memory lane in the future.

[Gabriel Wallis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't as drawn into this book as I was the first Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell book I read, Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell: Dreamland. Their art wasn't that great compared to their later work, of course, and the '80's hairstyles were... I couldn't get over all the cheesy hair! Don't get me wrong, here. I loved the art, but it was dang hard to enjoy it with all the cheese. Favorite painting in the book? Julie Bell's Sunshine Break. Still looking forward to browsing over another Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell book. I find them relaxing, and it's a great way to build imagination.

[Mark Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure why I bought this. I guess I thought I would find it more inspirational than it turned out to be. I already knew that I didn't care for Vallejo's art that much, because he makes all his figures look muscular and posed. This book just continued that. Julie Bell's art didn't inspire me either - she's really hung up on chrome. But even worse, between the two of them, few if any of the pictures seemed to actually tell a story. Too often it seemed like art for art's sake only.

[Charity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boris Vallejo is my hero. This is a great book if you're looking for a lovely and extensive collection of his and Julie Bells artwork. (It's by no means all of it, but what they added is some of the best in my opinion!

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of these 2 fantastic artists. Very recommended