Paint And Brush

Contest!

2012-01-25T14:22:00.000-08:00

How cool is this? The people at Calendars.com want you to win a free calendar! One of OUR 2012 calendars with 13 pieces of all new art! The same one we featured in our last blog post. Click here to learn more!

2012 Calendar!

2011-12-15T18:55:00.001-08:00

Introducing our 2012 Fantasy Calendar, now in its 33rd consecutive year! 13 brand new paintings by Boris and Julie with text by Anthony Palumbo. Available at Barnes & Noble, Bud Plant, bookstores and calendar kiosks in (hopefully!) every mall in America, Amazon.com, and everywhere great calendars are sold.

Cool paintings to see!

2011-12-06T10:10:00.000-08:00

Just had to show these! First is a portrait of Boris, recently painted by one of our sons, David Palumbo. The second one, titled "Tooth and Nail", is by another one of our sons, Anthony Palumbo. Being in a family of talented, inspired artists is just about the most wonderful thing we can think of!
Both of these paintings are part of a show at The Artist's House Gallery in Philadelphia, opening January 6.

Art Out Loud!

2011-08-01T08:10:00.001-07:00

A really fun day is ahead at The Society of Illustrators in New York City. On September 24 from 1 to 5 pm, we're scheduled to do painting demonstrations alongside 3 of our buddies and fellow illustrators, Donato Giancola, Greg Manchess, and Rick Berry. The link is HERE
We did this a few years ago and had a great day painting and visiting with everyone. Plus, the Society of Illustrators is just a great place to visit!

Upcoming Conventions!

2011-07-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

We're scheduled to be at a few conventions in the upcoming months, so we thought we'd let you know about it!

First, we've been invited to speak at The Calendar Club Conference in Austin, TX on August 5 and 6.

Next stop is Reno, NV where Boris will be the guest of honor at World Con. We'll be joined by our sons, Anthony and David Palumbo as well as Winona Nelson, in giving several talks and painting demonstrations. We'll be there from August 17 through August 20.

Also, along with David Palumbo, we were judges for the art show at Dragon Con where we'll be attending September 2 to September 5 in Atlanta, GA. Anthony Palumbo and Winona Nelson will also join us and, again, we'll be participating in lots of panel discussions (especially a really cool one about our upcoming Tarot Deck and book).

In November, we'll all be going to Illuxcon (November 3 through November 6) in Altoona, PA. We'll be in our usual cozy spot, up in the crow's nest, doing painting demonstrations most of the time.

Also in November, we'll both be the Artist Guests of Honor at Philcon (November 18 to November 20) in Cherry Hill, NJ.

Busy, busy, busy! And thanks to all of those painting demonstrations, we'll still be able to get our work done! See you there!

Libra Izze!

2011-05-28T07:42:00.001-07:00

Izze's not really a Libra, but I thought she'd be a great model for my newest personal project--Astrology Doggies! Years ago I got really interested in creating astrology birth charts for friends (before computers!). I'm really intrigued by all of the symbolism and mythology surrounding the astrological signs and it provides great visual material for art.
--Julie

Microvisions Time!

2011-05-18T06:51:00.000-07:00

Nomad by David Palumbo

Hey, in case you didn't know about it, it's that time of year again and the bidding has already started! Microvisionsis an annual auction that, in past years, Boris and I have both participated in. All of the proceeds go directly to the Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship Fund. The original 5"x7" paintings are on exhibit at The Society of Illustrators in NYC.
Artists featured include John Cuneo, Tony DiTerlizzi, Zelda Devon, Jesper Ejsing, Tyler Jacobson, Gary Kelley, Chris Moeller, Dave Palumbo, George Pratt and Mark Summers.

Boundary Waters

2011-05-13T11:24:00.001-07:00

I just finished this painting a week or so ago. Boundary Waters is an area between Minnesota and Ontario that is packed with beautiful wolves. Since I lived for about 5 years in Marquette, Michigan, which is also on Lake Superior, painting this background gave me a great feeling. I love Lake Superior and I really love wolves!
--Julie

The Crimson Battle Axe

2011-04-25T16:56:00.001-07:00

This is a cover painting that we did for the book "The Crimson Battle Axe" by Curtis Oddo. The book is chock full of action and fantasy. The art was lots of fun to do and the book is lots of fun to read!

Boris and Julie

Old Spice

2011-04-19T11:27:00.001-07:00

This is a painting full of fun and adventure that we did together for Old Spice.

Boris and Julie

New James Gurney Book!

2011-04-10T07:22:00.001-07:00

We just received our copy of Jim's new book, Color and Light: A Guide For The Realist Painter, and you've GOT to check it out! Jim's ability to break down all aspects of painting into a beautifully explained science is truly amazing.
At last year's Illustration Master Class where the two of us are core faculty members, Jim was a guest faculty member. He treated us all to some of the most well thought out and entertaining lectures we've ever seen and now he has put that same information into this book. Aside from his obvious and celebrated artistic gifts, the man's ability for clear, insightful communication is second to none. And to top it off, he's just such a good guy!

Your Highness

2011-04-01T09:58:00.001-07:00

This is a poster that was commissioned for the movie "Your Highness"
In the next few weeks we will be posting a number of paintings not yet in our website.
In some cases, unpublished art.

Boris and Julie

Rubber

2011-03-26T10:10:00.001-07:00

We painted this poster for the French horror comedy film, Rubber, directed and written by Quentin Dupieux. We very much enjoyed the crazy surrealistic sense of humor in the movie and we enjoyed being asked to bring that feeling across in this poster.

International Artist Magazine

2011-01-29T05:54:00.000-08:00

Check out the February/March 2011 issue (Number 77) of International Artist Magazine! Not only for the cover image (Julie's painting, "The Order of Wolves" as well as our friend Greg Manchess's painting, "The Wizard of Oz"), but for the awesome feature inside showcasing work from faculty members of the now-famous Illustration Master Class!

New Drawing

2010-12-22T07:23:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are! Back after a long no-blogging spell. Sometimes, right in the middle of a painting project, I (Julie) will get the urge to start a new pencil drawing. It's relaxing because of two things--(a) I can draw ANYTHING I want, and (b) I can draw while I'm curled up on the couch with a cup of tea. Painting really needs to be done at the easel, but drawing is super comfy.
This drawing is called "Sunset Muse".

Big Oscar

2010-06-28T18:13:00.001-07:00

I just finished this painting of an awesome dog that lives in our neighborhood. The painting is 3x3 feet, and since it's a close-up of his face, it looks huge in real life! I love having it in the studio because he looks like he's about to tell me something really important and I like to think of what it might be.
--Julie

New Meat Loaf Album Art by Julie

2010-05-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here it is! Meat Loaf's new album, Hang Cool Teddy Bear, with a brand new cover by me, Julie! As you may have guessed, I'm pretty excited about this cover because its evolution was such a fascinating experience of creativity and because everybody is so happy with it. In addition, in the interior booklet that comes with the CD, Meat Loaf has featured art by Boris as well as two of our sons, Anthony Palumbo and David Palumbo. The Deluxe Version of the CD is actually a book with a short story by Kilian Kerwin, the art I've just mentioned, and a bunch of really cool photos. Also, the single, Los Angeloser, features David's painting X-Ray Vision/These Things Really Work on the cover.

I was excited when I did Meat Loaf's Bat III cover a few years ago, but this album breaks new ground for everybody involved. You have to hear the music! It's new and it's fantastic!

Dorian Vallejo

2010-05-15T06:33:00.000-07:00

You may be familiar with our son Dorian's art in its many faces, as an illustrator back in the 90's and later on as a fine artist. His first book of life drawings is now out!
You can visit his website for more about his art HERE and you can view this cool video preview!

New Book Released!

2010-05-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, between the two of us, we have three sons and a daughter--all of whom are fantastic artists. One of them, David Palumbo, has just released his 2010 edition of "Quickie", a beautiful collection of nudes painted in oil. We know you're going to love it because we sure do! Click HERE for more information as well as a video flip-through of the book.

MicroVisions!

2010-04-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

Here's your chance to help future artists as well as to own an original piece of art! The Society of Illustrators Scholarship Fund is holding an auction of 12 miniature paintings (5x7 inches) by 12 different illustrators, of which I am privileged to be one. The paintings will be on exhibition at The Society of Illustrators in New York City through the month of May. The bidding will begin the first or second week of May. This is an annual event (each year featuring different artists) which was the creation of Irene Gallo and Dan Dos Santos. Irene, who is the senior art director at TOR Books, has posted all the paintings in her always-inspiring blog, The Art Department. Check it out and get ready for the bidding!
--Boris

Horse!

2010-04-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

For a while now, I've been expanding my painting territory to include wildlife art, mostly focusing on wolves. At the suggestion of Scott Usher at Greenwich Workshop, I've decided to try out painting some horses. It's interesting--I miss painting the fur that wolves have, but the muscularity of the horse, being similar to a muscular human, really appeals to me. Good thing I don't need to choose between horses and wolves--there's plenty of paint for both of them!
--Julie

Video Trailer

2010-04-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

If you liked David Palumbo's painting video we posted in January, you'll love this 4 minute trailer for his upcoming full-length instructional DVD (available in May)! Judging by this trailer, with awesome music by Anthony Palumbo, it's clear that the DVD is going to be extremely informative. In the actual DVD, the painting is shown in real time with commentary.

But, for now, the trailer is just lots of fun. Watch it for yourself and see what we mean!

Yamato Sculptures

2010-03-06T10:48:00.001-08:00

Something a little different for you to see!
Yamato Toys has produced two great sculptures based on two of our paintings, "Golden Lover" by Julie and "Monica's Ax" by Boris. For more information please contact them directly.

Cool Painting Video!

2010-01-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

Our son, David Palumbo, made this video of himself painting one of his "Postcard Nudes" from start to finish. He's done over 100 pieces like this now (50 of them featured in his first book, "Quickie"; more in an upcoming book yet to be titled) and still manages to stay enthusiastic about painting nude ladies. How does he do it?

Snow!

2009-12-20T11:33:00.001-08:00

We've just had this huge snowstorm and the view from our studio window is so beautiful that we had to share it with you! One would think it would be a good day to stay inside and paint, but for some crazy reason, it seems irresistible to get out there and be in the snow.

Illuxcon 2

2009-11-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

The second Illuxcon took place last week from Thursday the 12th through Sunday the 15th in Altoona, PA. More than sixty five artists were at hand displaying several hundred incredible pieces of art. Numerous collectors were also in attendance purchasing
original art as well as high quality prints for their collections. David, Tony, and his girlfriend, Nonie and the two of us had a grand time. Julie and I also gave an impromptu demonstration as we were working on two paintings for our 2011 calendar. The above picture of Julie appeared in the first page of the local newspaper. What fun!
--Boris

Illustration Master Class III

2009-10-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

To all of you who might be interested in attending this year's Illustration Master Class, we've just gotten word that now is a good time to register! Don't miss this amazing opportunity to study with the two of us as well as Rebecca Guay, James Gurney, Greg Manchess, Donato Giancola, Dan Dos Santos, Scott Fischer, and Irene Gallo. Experiences like this don't grow on trees!

Barn Time

2009-10-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

We've just come back from our annual trip to The Barn. Every year about this time, we pack up our paints and easels and head out to the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts to meet up with a group of our fellow artist friends. We spend a week working together, sharing inspiration and silliness, making campfires, eating s'mores. It's great because we can have a refreshing get-away while still getting our work done. The internet service is sketchy and phone service is practically non-existent, so we can really concentrate on good old fashioned painting.

This is an example of the inspiration/silliness part. Photographed by Marc Scheff. Drawn by Tony, Dena, Boris, Julie, and Winona.

Arkady Roytman, Dave Seeley, Justin Gerard, and Boris

Cyril Van Der Haegen, Dena Obeza, Barn, David Palumbo, Arkady Roytman

Winona Nelson, Anthony Palumbo, Lars Grant-West and Dilly, David Palumbo

Justin Gerard, Kerry, Marc Scheff, Jordu Schell, Julie, Dilly, Scott Brundage

Spectrum Show at The Society of Illustrators

2009-09-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we had the thrill of attending both the Spectrum exhibit at the Society of Illustrators in New York City AND going back the next day for Art Out Loud. Painting demonstrations were being given by Donato Giancola, Gregory Manchess, Charles Vess, Sam Weber, and James Gurney, who was painting a portrait from life of the great art historian, Walter Reed. It was such a blast! By the way, in case you didn't know about it, James Gurney not only paints awesome life portraits and is an honest-to-goodness nice person, but he has one of the best blogs about painting we know of.
So now our heads are filled with new art and inspiration as well as all the fun we had getting together with our fellow art-loving friends! If you are anywhere near New York City, you will be doing yourself a great favor by stopping by the SOI to see the show while it's up.

Our 2010 Calendar

2009-08-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again! Our 2010 Calendar is now available! Get 'em while they're hot--which is always, but you should get 'em now, nevertheless.

And The Winner Is...

2009-08-26T07:21:00.000-07:00

Sebastian Rice! Congratulations Sebastian! This was really tough to judge--there were lots of guesses that had some parts
right, but other parts wrong, so we had to balance it all out by taking into account more rights and
less wrongs. Thank you, everybody, for taking part--you really made this fun for us all!

Here's the actual breakdown on who did what:

The original concept was figured out between Julie and the client.
Boris did the original sketch and laid the main elements out on the board.
Julie painted the background and foreground-- all of the sky, foliage, rocks, trees, etc.
Boris started the wolf, Julie made adjustments and final touches to him.
Julie painted the head of the front horse (on the right) and Boris painted the body.
Boris painted the back horse (on the left).
Boris painted the woman’s body, Julie made some final touches to her face.
Julie painted the woman’s halter top, Boris painted her skirt and boots.
Boris painted the sword in the foreground.

There is no particular formula of how we work together because every painting is different. The decision as to “who paints what” is mostly based on convenience. We are usually working on several different projects at any given time and, in the interest of efficiency, we try to both stay pretty busy. Sometimes Boris will do the original layout, sometimes Julie. Sometimes Boris will paint the figure, sometimes Julie. Same with the background, whatever. If there is any particular part of the painting that one of us really wants to do, we will say so and do that--but we do sometimes have to arm wrestle to come to a final decision. Just kidding! :) There are times when one of us starts a face, then has to stop for some reason, and the other one will pick up where it was left off.

It’s a really fun way to work and we don’t run into ego battles about it. We both respect each other’s vision and ability equally. We do recognize that it’s an amazingly unique situation and that we’re luckier than our wildest dreams could have ever come up with!

So, Sebastian, send us an e-mail at bjart1@imaginistix.com!

Contest! Win a Prize!

2009-08-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

As you all know by now, Boris and I often work on the same painting (or drawing) together. When you look at our signatures on the paintings and you just see one signature, you will know that the painting you are looking at has been created entirely by the one who signed it. And whenever you see a painting that has been signed by the two of us, you can be sure that it's one we've done together as a team. We feel that it's a pretty seamless transition and most people don't notice that it's been done by two artists. We like to think of it as a "third artist".

This painting, "Temple", was commissioned by someone who wanted us to paint it together. When we do these paintings together, we often get letters from people who want to guess as to who painted what (Harrison and Jen, you know who you are!). So we decided to make a contest for you to guess!

Whoever comes the closest to guessing how we worked on this painting together will win an 18"x24" print of your choice.
A hint to keep in mind: we never follow any set formula to decide who works on what element. For instance, sometimes one of us works more on the figures and, for the next painting, we switch places. Sometimes we even work on the same figure together. So you can't base your guess on any other paintings! Please post your guesses in this blog by August 25.

Julie's Chesley Award

2009-08-07T19:37:00.001-07:00

Wow! I just got a call from our son, fellow illustrator David Palumbo, who is attending the 2009 World Con in Montreal, that I won the Chesley Award for Artistic Achievement! I wasn't able to be in Montreal to receive the award in person, but David graciously accepted it for me. What a complete thrill! Thank you so much to everyone who gave me your vote of support. I wish you could know how meaningful this is to me!
--Julie

Updated Home Page

2009-07-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again and we've updated our website. So if you haven't checked out our new home page, please do so! Coincidentally, this image just so happens to be on the cover of our upcoming 2010 Calendar (which you can pre-order right now from Amazon)We've got 13 all-new exciting images with a new take on text by Anthony Palumbo.
If you're at Comic Con, we're totally jealous, but we hope you have a great time!

Quickie!

2009-07-02T10:02:00.001-07:00

Here's a book that we're really excited about! It's called Quickie and it showcases 58 erotic oil paintings by our son, David Palumbo. David has been doing book covers, Magic cards, and other commissions for a while now and he decided that it would be a fun exercise every day to do some small postcard-sized paintings. The daily practice turned into a new passion and a book was born! Don't you just love it when a passion turns into a cool book or something? Click here for more information!

Illustration Master Class

2009-06-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

We've just returned from the most magical week! We were two of the faculty members of the 2009 Illustration Master Class, organized by Rebecca Guay, located at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. If you have an interest in developing and enhancing your artistic skills and would like to be surrounded by about 80 of the most dedicated students in this solar system as well as a dozen or so professionals at the top of the field of fantasy/science fiction illustration, cross your fingers and hope with all your might that Rebecca organizes a third Illustration Master Class for next year and join us! It's a gathering like no other. Everyone involved, faculty and students alike, seemed to feel the electrical energy, inspiration, and newly refreshed enthusiasm that was generated there.
We truly hope that the Illustration Master Class will be around for many, many years to come!

Boris The Spider

2009-06-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

You know that song by The Who called "Boris The Spider"? And you probably always thought that it was a made-up story about a fictional spider. Well, ha! Now you know the truth! So next time you're cleaning out your closet, be on the lookout for the super-scary Boris Spider!

Savage Sword of Conan

2009-05-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

This is an old cover that I did for Marvel Comics in the early 70's, but it has a funny story behind it. John Buscema had done the basic drawing of the Conan on the cross figure, but then he did not feel comfortable doing it as a painting. The people at Marvel asked me to add elements to the composition and do the finished painting. This is the cover as it was published.

Boris

Our Latest Book

2009-05-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here it is! We've compiled approximately 115 drawings of all our favorite fantasy subjects--a number of them are private commissions and have never been seen by the general public. Separated into 5 chapters (women, men, beasts, product design, and composition), the text by Anthony Palumbo discusses our thoughts on each category. Also, captions accompany each drawing with commentaries about the piece.

It's available now at major bookstores everywhere or you can order it from Amazon.com!

Wolf Business Meeting

2009-05-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

I still have a few more touches left to do on this painting, but it's close enough to being finished to show it here. I just love wolves. Their energy is so wild! We took the reference photos that I used to paint this at the Lakota Wolf Preserve in Columbia, NJ. I couldn't believe how cool it was when this group of wolves started doing this biting thing with each other. Apparently, they're reinforcing their hierarchy--making it clear to all involved exactly who's on top and who gets their nose bitten. I guess anybody in the business world can identify with it!

--Julie

Priestess of the Sun

2009-04-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

This is our most recent painting. It was commissioned by a client in the Ukraine. Both Julie and I worked on the painting and it was especially appealing to us because our client wanted to have a scene depicting an ancient Peruvian scene. Lots of fun!

Boris and Julie

Window to the Soul

2009-04-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

I just finished this privately commissioned painting. It is a companion piece for Julie's "A Rose For Peter", which appeared in this blog a few months ago. It was so much fun to do our own versions of the same character. We are so lucky to do art as our job!

Boris

Tarot Cards

2009-04-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

Our latest installment is in the May 2009 issue of Heavy Metal Magazine!

New Hard Curves Blog

2009-04-06T07:41:00.000-07:00

Julie's health fitness blog, Hard Curves, is now open. Drop by sometime!

Life Drawing

2009-04-04T07:12:00.000-07:00

Drawing the human figure from life is probably the Number One most important exercise (besides cardio fitness, of course!) for illustrators. Even if you're painting regularly, drawing from life challenges your brain to solve problems that will come in handy with finished work later on. We went to a sketch group earlier this week to practice our skills.

Big Bird

2009-03-28T18:47:00.001-07:00

This was a still life set-up that I painted from life one silly afternoon. I don't usually work on canvas (we normally use illustration board), so the surface was pretty different. It's always good to try new and different things!
--Boris

Julie

2009-03-21T13:27:00.001-07:00

These are some pictures of my Julie from her competitive bodybuilding days. Her devotion to exercise is obvious to anybody that is familiar with her. Her knowledge of fitness and nutrition is simply amazing. I probably would not be alive now if she had not designed the diet that literally reconstructed my liver when my doctor was going to put me on a list for a liver transplant several years ago! She is now working on a book that describes her approach to nutrition for bodybuilding, fitness, and simply healthy eating and living. This in addition to the wonderful person and artist that she is. What an incredibly lucky guy I am!!!

Boris

Red Fox Revisited

2009-03-12T08:31:00.001-07:00

Now I like it! Pushing through the trees all the way to the sky brought back depth that had been taken away by darkening the forest so much. Also, as was brought up in previous comments, the strong verticle lines of the trees is a great compositional tool to be used with care. I'm happy with the color change from the first version (too much green). It's more lively and unexpected. Anyway, I'm going to try to put this painting away and leave it alone, although I admit I've become a bit addicted to changing it now. It's like eating potato chips (which I never eat) where you just keep seeing one more tempting little bit and, before you know it, you're 50 pounds heavier.
Thanks for all the helpful comments and suggestions!

Julie

Fox--Before and After

2009-02-22T13:02:00.001-08:00

Here's a cute little fox who lives in New Jersey at the Lakota Wolf Preserve. Her name is Red (of course!). I started this painting a few years ago and thought it was finished in 2007, but I always felt uneasy with it, so it sat in the studio for all this time against the wall. I'd look at it, turn it upside down, look at it some more...Then, a while back, I just painted out the entire background and let it sit around for a few more months. Finally, I figured out what it needed so that the fox would be better integrated with the background. The orange/red leaves were necessary to balance the colors, but the fox still stood out in a funny way. I saw a dog at the park with shadows on his back and it made me realize that shadows would be just the thing to help.
I still look at the two versions and can't decide which I like better, but that's just the way it goes!
Julie

Close-up

2009-02-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

Photography is a passion of mine. It is very relaxing because I don't have to make a living with

it and deadlines are not an issue. I don't do it as often as I would like to, mainly for the same reasons. In real life deadlines have to be met and I have to make a living! Anyway, here are

three samples of some of my pictures.

Boris

Last Spring

2009-02-13T19:34:00.000-08:00

Sigh! We were just looking through some pictures we took last Spring in Paris and

thinking that it was really fun to be there. We had been at Elf Fair in Utrecht, Holland,

and we rented a car and drove to Paris. Yay for road trips!

2009-02-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

Except for Julie's quick trip to Texas, we've been pretty much locked in our studio for the past few weeks doing nothing but finishing up our paintings for our 2010 Boris and Julie Fantasy Calendar. So it was great to get out on Friday night to attend the opening at The Artist's House with Anthony Palumbo and David Palumbo headlining the show.
Janette by Anthony Palumbo

Never On Time by David Palumbo

We met up with some friends at the show--the lady in the tan colored hat is Cynthia Manion, our longtime friend and model. Dr. Don Riggs of Drexel University is in the center photo with Anthony and Cynthia. David is in the third photo with Dena, Anna, and Peter.

Now it's time to get to work on our Fantasy Calendar for 2011 (for real!).

Julie at 60 degrees Farenheit

2009-01-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry, not trying to brag or anything, but I was just in Texas this past weekend and, at least for part of the time, the weather was great!
Julie

Boris at 6 Degrees Farenheit

2009-01-16T08:41:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's really cold out there! We go for a walk just about every morning. Today we each wore 3 pairs of pants, 3 or 4 shirts, a down vest, coats, multiple hats, and insulated mittens. And, yeah, we looked like we each gained about 50 pounds, but so what?
We realize that it gets much, much colder in other parts of the country (as well as the rest of the world) and we have the deepest respect for people who deal with it! There's a great saying, "We'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not." Whatever, it's a gorgeous day out there!

World Fantasy Convention drawings

2009-01-12T07:28:00.000-08:00

Last year at the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs, NY, a bunch of us illustrators were sitting around a big round table just drawing from our imagination for fun and that's exactly what it was, FUN! This kind of free-spirited drawing from imagination is like taking your brain to a day spa. I guess since we all used to draw without purpose or restrictions when we were children, it brings back that feeling of being a kid without the responsibilities we have as adults. Just lots of fun. We highly recommend it!

Julie and Boris

John Carter of Mars Painting!

2009-01-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

At long last, here is the finished painting of John Carter of Mars. During the holidays, due to various ice storms and cold viruses, we were able to get plenty of work done. Not a whole lot of partying, but lots of painting. Well, you know, the farmers say to make hay while the sun shines...artists say to make paintings while you're housebound!

Happy 2009!

Boris and Julie

John Carter of Mars

2008-12-28T15:42:00.000-08:00

Here is Julie working on the last stages of a painting based on ERB's John Carter, a private commission from a friend of ours. We are taking turns in our usual unplanned way, There is no "you do this and I do that". One of us just takes over when the other is ready to stop. At the end of the day the only important thing is to divide the working time as evenly as we can and to have lots of fun!
The drawing below is the preliminary sketch for two of the white apes in the right half of the painting.

Boris

John Carter of Mars

2008-12-19T16:41:00.000-08:00

We did this drawing as a private commission. One of the most fun and exciting things about working on fantasy art is the FANTASY part! The story of John Carter of Mars is such a blast. To do our research for this piece, we borrowed a copy of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "The Gods of Mars & The Warlord of Mars" from our own
Dave Palumbo who has an especially beautiful edition that has the cover art as well as interior illustrations by Frank Frazetta. What a story! If you haven't read these stories yet, better get to it!
--Boris and Julie

Flying Wolf

2008-12-16T17:09:00.000-08:00

A flying wolf? Why not! This painting is just getting started, but I thought it would be fun to show you part of it.

--Julie

Heavy Metal Magazine Tarot

2008-12-09T07:10:00.000-08:00

Our latest installment of Tarot cards is in the January issue of Heavy Metal Magazine!
Nine of Pentacles by Julie Bell
King of Swords by Boris Vallejo
Page of Wands by Anthony Palumbo

Red Rider

2008-12-07T11:58:00.001-08:00

Here's a drawing we did together that we just finished. Now back to work on the next thing!

Julie and Boris

Small Works show in Philadelphia

2008-12-05T18:25:00.000-08:00

Opening tonight, there is a fantastic selection of Small Works up on the walls at The Artist's House on N. 2nd Street in Old City, Philadelphia. They've got paintings, drawings, and sculptures from 35 different artists. We love to go to shows like this where you get glimpses of so many different styles of working. Seeing good original art is the best kind of brain food for an artist--always inspiring! Makes you want to go home and paint!

Randi by David Palumbo

Olga by Anthony Palumbo

Self Portrait by Anthony Palumbo

Randi 2 by David Palumbo

David Palumbo, Lorraine Reisenbach (owner of The Artist's House Gallery), and Anthony Palumbo

New Biker Girl Drawing

2008-12-01T14:34:00.001-08:00

In putting together material for our newest book, The Ultimate Illustrations: The Drawings of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell (published by Anova Books and Harper Collins, text by Anthony Palumbo, scheduled for release in the Spring of 2009), we needed to fill a spot with a new drawing, so we figured that the people who follow our blog should be the first to see it!
There is something fun and exciting about having a mission where you don't have time to think about it too much, you just have to get down to work and do it. Save all that procrastination energy for a later date. I guess it's like double procrastination and it cancels itself out! Never thought of that before.

Julie

Personal Art

2008-11-23T11:17:00.000-08:00

Every since I turned professional I have been talking about doing paintings now and then just for myself. The idea of painting something just for fun is both amazingly appealing and incredibly terrifying, so I mostly talk about it. However, several years ago, when I first met my Julie, she showed me a drawing that she had done long before she became a pro herself. I was so impressed with the strength of her drawing that I decided to do a painting based on her sketch (with her permission, of course) The result fell way short of the power of the original drawing. Here are both versions, hers, bold and powerful, mine, professional but lacking in drama.

Since then, almost twenty years later, I have done a couple of other pieces "just for fun". Here are two more of those. Some day I will do more, I am sure.

Boris

Portrait of My Father

2008-11-17T07:31:00.000-08:00

I did this painting as a birthday present to my father, Milton Bell, who is a highly respected architect in Texas. He has designed many landmark buildings including the US Embassy in Mexico City and the Texas Energy Museum. I chose to paint him at work at his drawing board because, well, I think it's just his most comfortable spot in the whole world. In fact, it's possible that he may be genetically linked to his drawing board.
Inspired by our sons' gallery paintings, I wanted to experiment with a looser style of painting than my usual fantasy art style. I recommend to other artists to try out different styles if for no other reason than the psychological. It feels so funny! It's good to explore and stretch yourself.

Julie

Hajime Sorayama Show

2008-11-14T06:53:00.001-08:00

Last night at the Opera Gallery in New York City, we were privileged to attend the opening of an exhibit by the seriously great artist, Hajime Sorayama. His work is a huge inspiration to each and every one of us and meeting him in person was an amazing experience. He's as down-to-earth, gracious, and friendly as a man can be!

Hajime Sorayama, Julie, David Palumbo, Anthony Palumbo, and Boris

Illuxcon, 2 days after

2008-11-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

Well, if you weren't at Illuxcon this past weekend, you missed a pretty good time and a unique opportunity to see tons and tons of beautiful fantasy paintings, drawings, and sculptures by some of the best artists in the business. Here are pictures of some of the fun(Left to Right and then down) View from the second floor, David Palumbo during a painting demonstration, Patrick Jones, David's table, Michael Whelan, John Jude Palencar, dinner at El Campesino in Altoona, Justin Sweet.
Dave Seeley's corner, Julie with sculpted figure by Tom Kuebler, Boris with sculpted mask by Jordu Schell, Jordu with a sculpture that he traded us for a sketch!

Going to Illuxcon!

2008-11-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we're heading out to the great city of Altoona, PA to attend the first Illuxcon, a convention devoted entirely to fantasy art. It was invented and put together by Pat and Jeannie Wilshire, obviously two of the most devoted fantasy art fans ever! We're going to have tons of original art on display as well as panel discussions and painting demonstrations. Plus, as always, we're going to have tons of fun. But then, we always take our fun with us wherever we go.

So, we're leaving you with these winged ponies gorging themselves on organic, trans fat free tortilla chips as food for thought.

To all of you who will be with us in Altoona, see you soon!

Boris and Julie

From My Nasty Sketch book

2008-11-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

I have always enjoyed doing cartooning just for the fun of it. Most of the time I do them on napkins or envelopes, so I don't usually keep them. Many years ago, 1979 to be precise, I decided to do a full book of the nasty cartoons that often come from my sick head to my even sicker pen, and then they get tossed into the garbage bin for obvious reasons. After the initial drawings, priorities pushed aside the project. Anyway, here are two of those.

Boris

Peter Workman's Birthday party

2008-11-01T19:03:00.001-07:00

Peter Workman of Workman Publishing (the folks who publish our calendar every year) had a birthday recently and we were invited. The party was aboard a really cool yacht in the East River in New York and we cruised all around the city from a viewpoint we'd never seen before. We were all sitting around eating cake and listening to a live Dixieland jazz band and someone said, "Wow! The Statue of Liberty!" We thought, "oh, we've seen it before, but let's go take a look anyway." But, whoa! We were really close and at night with all the lights on it, it was truly breathtaking. Really gorgeous. And huge, too. That is one huge statue.

Boris, Peter Workman, Regina Pereira, Julie, Suzanne Rafer

Workman Publishing has published Boris' annual calendar for 29 consecutive years now (think about that!). Julie signed on to the calendar in tandem with Boris in 2000. Suzanne Rafer has been the art director since 1983 (25 years!). It's definitely our favorite project every year to paint 13 paintings of exactly what we love to paint--beautiful, heroic people in fantasy settings doing magical things.

Happy birthday, Peter! We love you!

Jesse Springer Spaniel

2008-10-27T08:05:00.001-07:00

This is a portrait of my sister Suzanne's dog, Jesse, that I've done for her surprise birthday present. She always maintains that he has a strong resemblance to Antonio Banderas. I know that she is totally in love with Jesse and certainly has at least a crush on Antonio Banderas, so I hope I've captured whatever it is she sees in this painting!
Julie

Vampire's Kiss

2008-10-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

I did this painting nearly thirty years ago. It has always been one of my most popular works , but recently, for some reason we have been receiving more orders for prints of this one than usual. In addition we have also received a number of questions about the meaning of the painting. So, to answer those that have wondered, my thought is that the painting represents that in love there is here and there a little drop of pain. Just enough to remind us that we are human beings. So there you have it.

Boris

Just for Fun!

2008-10-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

These are two 60's covers from memory lane.
I had so much fun doing those comic covers! Much more so than doing barbeque grills and refrigerators!

Boris

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie Poster

2008-10-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

We thought you would get a kick out of seeing some of the preparatory work we did for our Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie poster. Here is the first rough sketch:

And here is the second, more finished sketch:

And, of course, reference pictures! David Palumbo posed for Master Shake, Anthony Palumbo posed for Frylock, and Boris posed for Meatwad:

And, ta daa! The finished painting

Julie and Boris

Some of the work we did at the barn

2008-10-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

We're working on our calendar for 2010 (That sounds so futuristic, right?). So here's a preview. We'll put up some pictures of what everybody else was working on in a later post.

Julie and Boris

Placemat Art at Lunch

2008-10-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

Firing up the crayons!

A pretty girl in Paris by Rebecca Guay

Portrait of Boris and David by Anthony Palumbo

Some intricate mandalas by Irene Gallo

My Pal Walter at the barn by David Palumbo

A devilish collaboration by Scott Fischer and Greg Manchess

Pumpkin faces

2008-10-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

It was brought up by one of us that the combination of carving pumpkins in the fall in a barn in New England was kind of outrageously cliche, but it sure was fun!

Some Barn Moments

2008-10-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

Irene Gallo climbed up really, really high in the barn regardless of the fact that there were screeching bats as well as serious evidence of mice,
and Scott Fischer brought an amazing robot that he built.

Julie and Rebecca Guay looking like sisters,

Arkady Rothman hanging out,

and Dave Sealy talking painting with Anthony Palumbo.

Cristina and Uno Dos Santos

Happy moments in our hike to the waterfalls before we broke off into small groups on the way back and got a little bit lost in the woods. We felt like we were in an episode of "Lost".

Julie overlooking a breathtaking open vista on the left. In the group shot are (L to R) Greg Manchess, Scott Fischer, David Palumbo, Dan Dos Santos, Lars Grant West, Dave Sealy, Irene Gallo, Steve Stroud, and Anthony Palumbo.

Did you know that you can melt beer bottles in a campfire? It happened right here.

Thursday

2008-10-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

Left: Boris

Right: Arkady Rothman with blood oranges

Clockwise:

Dave Palumbo chatting with Lars Grant West

Eric Fortune, Arkady Rothman, Scott Brundage, Anthony Palumbo creating fire

Dog at the art supplies store with Anthony Palumbo

Scott Brundage

Day 3

2008-10-08T08:53:00.001-07:00

Wow! Time is flying by and we're already on Day 3. Last night we all gathered around the TV to watch the debate and then toasted up some marshmallows around a huge fire. An interesting science experiment followed the marshmallow toasting and now we're all back to work today! Hiking up to the waterfall is planned for this afternoon.

Till next time,
Julie and Boris

The Barn

2008-10-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning we're going to our annual (third year!) artists' retreat. Every year, in an undisclosed location (shhh!) at a really cool barn in the mountains, we meet up with a bunch of our fellow artist friends and all spend a week painting together, hiking, and having a blast. It's a perfect way to get away and relax and still get our work done!

We'll try to post highlights of our week as it goes along.

See you,

Julie and Boris

A Blast from Boris' Past

2008-09-30T18:07:00.001-07:00

This is a true vintage illustration that I did in 1965. At the time I had a job doing illustrations for a chain of department stores. Not terribly exciting, but it gave me a good feeling for detail and lots of patience. This one was somewhat more interesting than the usual pen and ink drawings that I would do on a daily basis since it was in tempera. Woopy doo!!

Boris

Boris and Julie Calendar Preview 2010!

2008-09-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a cropped close-up of the cover painting we just finished for our 2010 calendar, published by Workman Publishing. Just think...by the time you can see the full image, we'll have all had another birthday!

Boris and Julie

Walter

2008-09-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

What does this have to do with anything? Go to My Pal Walter and find out!

Boris and Julie

November Issue of Heavy Metal Magazine

2008-09-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

The latest installment in our Tarot series featured in Heavy Metal Magazine is now on the newsstands! We show three new Tarot cards each issue, and since the four of us are creating the set, one of us gets a break. This month, it was Boris' turn to just hang out and listen to Rachmaninoff.

New Painting by Julie

2008-09-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

Here's my most recent painting, A Rose For Peter, a private commission.

Julie

Our Tarot Project at Tor.com

2008-09-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

It's been said that she is THE most influential force in the direction of science fiction/fantasy art today and we would wholeheartedly agree--Irene Gallo of Tor Books has posted an interview with us in her super popular blog The Art Department. She is introducing our ongoing and upcoming Tarot card project. Thanks, Irene! Once again, your energy and enthusiasm inspires us!

Julie, Boris, Tony, and David

Painting in Progress

2008-09-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

These are stages one and two of painting a head. In the first picture the pencil drawing is glazed with a thin coat of burnt sienna acrylic.
In the second picture, oil colors are blocked quickly one next to the other with a flat brush, in this case a number 4.

The picture on the left shows the blending of the colors. This is done with a soft, round, watercolor brush, number 6 for this one.
In the picture on the right we see the finished head. Details have been added as needed.
The whole process of painting the head has taken one hour. The size of the head is around 3.25" from the top of the head to the chin

Boris

First Friday in Philly!

2008-09-06T09:59:00.001-07:00

Our sons, Anthony and David Palumbo, had a show last night at The Artist's House on 2nd Street in Philadelphia...
Alana Bograd, Anthony Palumbo, and Don Riggs

Anthony Palumbo's painting at The Artist's House Gallery, Lilia

Molly McIntyre, Dave Palumbo, and Boris

Dave Palumbo's painting at The Artist's House Gallery, Pink Man Blue Bird

Alana and Julie

Boris, David, and Anthony

Street Musicians singing "Waterfalls" for us.

New Drawing By Julie

2008-09-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

A sculptor for Yamato Toys is doing a sculpture of a painting I did in 1992, "Golden Lover". I did a drawing of the back view to help him with the process.

--Julie

Appearance at Illuxcon

2008-08-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

We wanted to let all of you know that we're going to be attending Illuxcon from Thursday, November 6 through Sunday, November 9. It's going to be an amazing event with tons of top fantasy and science fiction artists. There will be painting demos by such notables as

Dave Palumbo, Justin Sweet, Bob Eggleton, Dan Horne, and Jon Foster as well as a sculpture demo by Joe DeVito.

See you there!

Boris and Julie

Painting in Progress

2008-08-28T04:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a preview of the underpainting of the latest addition to my wildlife series. I'm planning to take it to the same level of development as the second one shown here (called Alpha Wolf).

I just really, really love wolves! I got into painting them when I was commissioned by Tor Books to do some book covers that had wolves in them. To get reference material for the covers, Boris and I went to Lakota Wolf Preserve in New Jersey to shoot a whole bunch of pictures. Just being around those gorgeous creatures was such an amazing experience.

Anyway, I could go on all day about them, but I should just get back to work!

See you,

Julie

Welcome!

2008-08-25T05:11:00.001-07:00

It's Day One at our new website and we're so excited! We've been working for months

to update everything and create a whole new look that we can all have fun with.

And we're going to do our best to keep you up-to-date with new artworks, scheduled

appearances, and whatever's going on in our studio and our heads (crazy as that may be!).

So, enjoy!

See you,

Julie and Boris