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 The Chesley Awards were established in 1985 by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists to recognize individual artistic works and achievements during a given year. The Chesleys were initially called the ASFA Awards, but were later r ...

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.

Early life

Julie Bell was born on October 21, 1958 in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...

. She attended six schools studying painting and drawing. In her youth, she was fond of

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

. 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 David Palumbo (born 1982) is an American illustrator and fine artist. Life Palumbo is the son of science fiction scholar Donald Palumbo and illustrator Julie Bell, brother of artist Anthony Palumbo, and stepson of illustrator Boris Vallejo. He l ...

, who subsequently also became professional artists. In 1989, she met

Boris Vallejo Boris Vallejo (born January 8, 1941) is a Peruvian-American painter who works in the science fiction, fantasy, and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have appeared on the covers of numerous science fiction and fantasy fiction ...

, 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.

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.

Bell shares her studio in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

with her husband,

. 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. In the early 1990s, she illustrated painted covers for video games as well as best-selling trading cards for the superheroes of

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

and DC. A cover art image from the

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

Game Gear The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, ...

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 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 The Franklin Mint is a private mint founded by Joseph Segel in 1964 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The building is in Middletown Township. The brand name was previously owned by Sequential Brands Group headquartered in New York City, New York. It is ...

. She designed the cover art for

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

's albums '' Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose'' and its first single "

It's All Coming Back to Me Now "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is a power ballad written by Jim Steinman. According to Steinman, the song was inspired by ''Wuthering Heights'', and was an attempt to write "the most passionate, romantic song" he could ever create. ''The Sunda ...

", the album ''

Hang Cool Teddy Bear ''Hang Cool Teddy Bear'' is the tenth studio album by Meat Loaf. It was released on 19 April 2010 by Mercury Records in the UK and by Loud & Proud Records in the US on 11 May 2010, with global distribution handled by Universal Music Group. The a ...

'', and the album "Crossroads". In 2007, Bell and Vallejo illustrated the poster for ''

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters'' (also known as ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Movie Film for Theaters'') is a 2007 American adult animated surreal black comedy film based on the Adult Swim animated series ''Aqua Teen Hunger Fo ...

''.

Honors

* Art Renewal Center, multiple 1st place awards & honorable mentions.

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

External links

*
BorisJulie.com

rehscgi.com
(biography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Julie 1958 births Living people American women painters American artists' models American speculative fiction artists Fantasy artists American female bodybuilders People from Beaumont, Texas Pin-up artists Painters from Texas American women illustrators American illustrators 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists