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 are the "pinnacle award" for art in the science fiction and fantasy genre. Established in 1985 by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, the awards recognize individual artistic works and achievements during a g ...

and was the designer of the Dragons of Destiny series. She also won first place awards in the

Art Renewal Center The Art Renewal Center (ARC) is a non-profit, educational organization, which hosts an online museum dedicated to realist art. The ARC was founded by New Jersey businessman, author, and art collector Fred Ross. Particular emphasis is given to ...

International Salon, which bestowed on her the title "ARC Living Master".

Early life

Bell was born on October 21, 1958, in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

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

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...

. She took part in various competitions and received national recognition, which later influenced her to portray beautiful and muscular women. In 1978, Bell married writer and academic Donald E. Palumbo. During their eleven-year 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 novels in the science fiction, sword ...

, whom she later married.

Career

Bell has painted the cover illustrations of more than 100 fantasy and science fiction books and magazines since 1990. 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 Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product, such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ar ...

image from the

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990 in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and in 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily ...

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. It is currently ...

. Her art was also featured in the 1995 card game Hyborian Gates. She designed the cover art for

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

's 2006 album '' Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose'' as well as 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 Sunday ...

". 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'' is a 2007 American adult animated surreal black comedy film based on the Adult Swim animated series ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force''. The film was produced, written and directed by series creat ...

''. In the 2012-2013 Art Renewal Center (ARC) International Salon, Bell won "the most awards in any one competition ARC has ever held", including First Place in the Imaginative Realist Category, First and Third Place in the Animal Category, Best Portrait Runner Up, two purchase awards, and two additional honorable mentions. It was in 2013 that Bell was awarded the aforementioned "Living Master" title by ARC, that organization's highest artist designation. In November 2015, she was awarded the Mountain Oyster Club's Denise McCalla Memorial Top Choice Award. Bell shares her studio in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

with her husband, renowned fantasy artist

Honors

* Art Renewal Center, multiple 1st place awards and 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 Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...

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 20th-century American women painters 20th-century American painters 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American painters American artists' models American female bodybuilders American women illustrators American fantasy artists People from Beaumont, Texas Painters from Texas Pin-up artists 20th-century American sportswomen