Boris Vallejo: The Artist

In 1964, Vallejo - who didn't as yet speak English - arrived in New York City to become a professional artist. With eighty dollars in his pocket and no friends, family, or business connections, the young artist had to find a job quickly before he ended up on the streets.

Fortunately, he met some of his fellow countrymen in a restaurant one day, and they provided him with a room in the Bronx for only ten dollars a week. It was also one of these new friends who located an employer willing to hire Vallejo as an advertising artist

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Moving to Hartford, Connecticut, Vallejo worked for the company--a large chain store--for half a year before returning to New York City.

It was here that he first met his future wife, Doris Maier. Vallejo didn't want to stay in advertising forever, and the desire to do something more creative caused him to leave a steady paycheck behind for the uncertain life of a freelance artist.

Accepting assignments from wherever they came, Vallejo worked under tight deadlines, drawing everything from christmas cards to fashion designs. "I had already been working professionally for several years when I began to direct my efforts toward fantasy art," Vallejo recalled in Fantasy Art Techniques. "I had tried children's book illustration, mystery, men's magazines, and so on.

But something jelled when I became aware of fantasy illustration." There was one major influence behind Vallejo's attraction to fantasy art. Ever since his first sessions drawing nude models at art school , Vallejo had been fascinated with the physical form of living creatures, whether they be human or animal.

As a body builder, Vallejo was particularly interested in creating images of perfect human shapes. "I am interested in what I can do with a figure, and how well I can do it, how close to perfection I can come," the artist said.....