Artist Spotlight on Boris Vallejo

Boris Vallejo's artwork has been synonymous with fantasy and muscle for nearly four decades. His oil paintings are erotic, romantic and typically set in a mythological landscape. He pushes the limits of the muscular form with his beautiful maidens, heroines and amazons alongside beasts & warriors. "I have always had a special love for the perfect structure of the human body" he says "and fantasy art enabled me to depict muscular and sensuous bodies in all variations in my works."

Born 1941 in Lima, Peru, he first started painting at age 13. Vallejo immigrated to the United States in 1964 to pursue a career in art. His first illustrating job was at the age of 16. Early paperback work for Tarzan, Conan and Doc Savage gave him a fan following and quickly led to commissions for movie posters, advertisements, album covers and collectibles.

Vallejo has become a modern master and icon of the fantasy genre. His composition and color shows influence from centuries of paintings and pays homage to the great masters. He is also inspired by contemporaries in the fantasy genre and keeps an eye out for new artists. He has modeled for some of his own male figures, and many of his later female characters were modeled by his wife Julie Bell, a fellow artist & former bodybuilder.

Vallejo's art still graces the covers of science fiction novels and he showcases his work in annual calendars. He often collaborates with wife Julie under the name "Boris and Julie" or "Julie and Boris". Check out more of his and Julie's work at www.imaginistix.com.