Met a Vegetarian bodybuilder and her husband last week. The diet change

[Lorien]

saved his life!

I spent the week in Amherst, MA at a workshop for professional illustrators. My work station was right next to artist/ bodybuilder Julie Bell and right behind her husband, Boris Vallejo. Julie has been a Vegetarian for most of her 50 years and still looks pretty much like this:



Her husband, Boris, is 67. 12 years ago his cholesterol levels were 265 mg/dl and his liver function was declining. His wife convinced him to go on a "clean" vegetarian diet and he adapted to it very quickly. Within a year his liver was healthy and functioning normally, while his cholesterol levels are now on the low side! He's fit and energetic; in fact, he easily kept up with the rest of us last week during our grueling 9am-midnight schedules. He did tell me that he believes that medication is sometimes necessary for some medical conditions, though he believes that dietary changes are often the least risky and most beneficial first action to take. Now, if I could only get my 67 year old, 450 pound sedentary all-meat-and-dairy diet father to adopt the same philosophy!

[flvegan]

1. That's...105 lbs she's curling!

Quite a looker, too.

Great story. Thanks for posting it.

[Robeson]

2. Just curious...

...do they work on the same piece together? Looks like they are both working on it from the pic.

[Lorien]

3. Yep, they have very similar styles

actually, Julie had taken some drawing courses before she met Boris, but had never painted before. So he taught her just about everything she knows about using oils. Their stuff really isn't my taste (actually, at this point many of their commercial commissions are slight parodies of Boris' earlier works) but I learned a heck of a lot from them in a week. I was always a bit intimidated by oil, but I'm diving right into using it now.

Boris:



Julie:



They met 20 years ago when she worked as one of his models:

[Robeson]

4. Not quite my taste either, but they are obviously skilled....

...from what you've shown, and I'm sure you picked up some tid-bits. Thanks for sharing...:thumbsup:

[Lorien]

5. Case in point about the self parody:

Movie poster for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie film illustrated by Bell and Vallejo

Hey, it's good not to take yourself too seriously when you're best known for painting barbarians, babes, and monsters!