Art

© Copyright Boris Vallejo. All Rights Reserved. Paintings in this interview may not be reproduced in any manner whatsover. For further information visit Boris Vallejo's Official Site: www.borisjulie.com

Boris Vallejo is one of the most widely acclaimed fantasy and science fiction artists. His art has illustrated more than five hundred book covers and albums. He has worked for almost every major publishing house. Boris was born in Lima, Peru, where he majored in the National School of Fine Arts, before moving to the US. He creates worlds and dimensions.

Boris is married to the fantasy artist Julie Bell.

Interview by Mauricio Saravia

ARTIST INTERVIEWS: Tell us about coming to the US from Peru and about your beginning the "Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes."

Boris Vallejo: I was admited to the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes at age fourteen, the youngest student to be admited to that art school at the time. I must have impressed them with my admission test as I was allowed to skip the first year and went right into the second year class. In retrospect I don't think that that is a good idea as I also skipped a lot of the basic studies that I now believe are necessary to get a solid drawing foundation. Of course later on I did those exercises on my own but I think it would have been better and easier to do them in the right order. In 1964 I came to the US. My original intention was to come for two years and then go back to Peru with the "American experience". Needless to say, what I found surpassed my expectations and I decided to stay here.

"I may get inspired by a single pose of a model.
I then put the figure on the board and build a
scene, that is to say a story around it.
The ideas are always there, waiting to come out."

AI: Your art is fantastic. How do you begin to create a painting?

BV: In many different ways. Sometimes with a concept, and idea in my head that develops into an sketch and then into the finished painting. Other times I may get inspired by a single pose of a model. I then put the figure on the board and build a scene, that is to say a story around it. The ideas are always there, waiting to come out.

AI: What are the feelings that inspire your art?

BV: Beauty. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it is always up to interpretation. One can find beauty in so many different things and then, what is beautiful to me may not be for the next person.

AI: Boris, you have done more than three hundred book covers. How did you approach a cover?

BV: I think the number is probably closer to five hundred. Anyway, a cover has to tell a story by itself. Even before you read the book you want to want to read it. Our job is to give the audience a taste of what is inside. It better be tasty if somebody is going to want to buy that book! Sometimes the book is wonderfully descriptive so it is relatively simple to pick a scene and go from there. Other times the book deals more with feelings and story telling rather than description. Then you have to approach it in a more general way.

AI: Which artists have captured your attention lately?

BV: At this time in my life I tend to look at everybody's work and at nobody in particular. I have no favorites. Every artist has something to offer by I try to be a better Boris and not compare myself with anybody else. Having said that, I have to say that my main source of inspiration is my wife, Julie.

AI: Do you listen to music when you are painting? Does it influence your creations in any way?

BV: No. Music is a passion of mine and exists separate from anything else. I need music almost as much as I need food. I get very restless if I don't have music for too long. To come back to the original question, actually I don't think anything influences my painting. I can paint at any time in any kind of mood and my hands kind of go by themselves. It is almost weird because I don't consciously think about what I paint I just do it.

AI: What's a day in the life of Boris Vallejo?

BV: Hectic. Enough said!

AI: Thank you very much, Boris!

Read Exclusive Interview With Julie Bell
About Her Art and Boris Vallejo

You Can Visit Julie Bell's and Boris Vallejo's Official Site at: www.borisjulie.com