Boris Valeggio, or as he is also called Vallejo, is an artist of our time, whose career went along a winding path that led him ultimately to worldwide recognition.
Creative beginning
Valeggio was born in Peru, but he actively showed his artistic talents in the USA, which is why in many sources he is called the Peruvian-American representative of art.
It will be superfluous to talk about how the future representative of the fantasy style loved to draw from childhood, as his preferences in choosing an educational institution indicate this. Boris successfully completed his studies at the National School of Arts in his homeland - in Lima. His success was so remarkable that he received a grand grant to study painting in Florence. Boris Valeggio thoroughly showed the rebellious spirit, which the author will “pour” fantasy into his fantasy paintings, when he refused the privileges granted to him, and with several tens of dollars went for the
American dream to the USA.
The young man had a hard time at first. He was forced to wander around the cities in search of better living conditions. The first two years of his stay in the country of tremendous opportunities, Valeggio spent as an employee, and then was able to afford to become a free artist. I must say that this status was rather a fiction, since the next eight years he tried in every possible way to realize his potential, creating illustrations in the “fantasy” styles for large publishers of the country.
Own style
Scrupulously working on the realization of fantastic characters, Vallejo formed his own style of writing. His main activity was to create illustrations for films, album covers. Over time, the artist managed to embody his ideas in the form of creating graphic advertising. Paintings in the style of Valeggio - this is certainly a sketch with the participation of fantastic characters that differ in the realism of the image.
In the artistic style of Boris attributed to the writers in the style of "fantasy". Looking at his work, you involuntarily plunge into the world of good dreams or reckless nightmares depicted by him.
Main characters
The paintings created by Valeggio reflect mainly the heroic images of people with superhuman abilities. Among the frequently encountered images of the artist, one can notice the appearance of mythical gods, Tarzan, Conan the barbarian, mystical creatures. The bodies of the heroes are depicted grotesquely, as if they all day and night spend in sports halls and drink steroids. However, this applies only to male characters. Women, on the contrary, have voluminous forms and look very erotic. However, this is one of the hallmarks of the "fantasy" style.
The images of heroes are never based on sketches from nature. This is the fundamental rule for drawing a painting by Valeggio. Photo sitters - this is the starting point for starting work on the canvas. The point is not that Boris lacks experience or patience. He drew a lot from nature before he came to the optimal formula for his work. Valeggio takes a photo and proceeds to his image on canvas. As each stroke appears, the master has images that allow you to transform a real hero into one who can take on the task of saving the world or a beautiful woman.
Animals in the artist's works
Creates Valeggio paintings with striking realism. His secret lies in the long journey of studying human and animal anatomy.
With a close study of his work, one cannot fail to notice that the central characters are most often
mythical creatures that look like hybrids of the animal and plant worlds. Of course, human features are also visible in them, however, in general, creatures look like an entity unknown to the world.
The whole essence of Valeggio’s creative career is to transfer to the canvas a fictional world with non-existent heroes and give them life, giving them biomechanics and mysticism. In many of his works, one can trace the artist’s unique ability to combine individual physiological aspects of different animals so that a new biological species eventually emerges.
Boris Valeggio. Pictures of the eternal struggle of good and evil
The artist’s works met a lot of reviews on his way, among which were admiration and outspoken criticism. The fact is that many paintings are permeated with overt eroticism, which is interwoven with symbolic battles of good and evil. In his paintings you can see how the most evil and powerful evil spirits were able to cope with their inner evil thanks to the embrace of charming beauties, captivating them with the perfection of forms. In the work of the artist, a special role is played by the ladies who provoke men to commit feats.
Moreover, they often act in the guise of diplomats who, by their beauty, were able to stop the evil monsters. Perhaps
this allegory is not accidental in the works of Valeggio. The paintings were largely created with the physical and moral support of the painter's wife, Julia Bell, who repeatedly posed for individual scenes. Their family tandem is tightly bound by artistic bonds. Julia is also an artist, writing in the same style as her husband.