Illustrator Love: Mary Blair

A few weeks ago my sister, my hubs and I headed to New Orleans for the day to view the much anticipated exhibit Dreams Come True: The Art of the Classic Fairy Tales From the Walt Disney Catalogue at NOMA. Being a huge fan of illustration and admittedly a lover of all things Disney it seemed a must-see.

While there was I introduced to several Disney artists/illustrators whose work awed me. My favorite part of the exhibit was looking at preliminary sketches and character developments. A few of the illustrators really stood out to me for their whimsical + unique styles and I thought I'd share them with you guys.



First up, Mary Blair. This beloved designer worked for Walt Disney beginning in 1940 (continuing until her death in 1978) and they collaborated on such projects like Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. Disney loved her work so, that he asked her to assist with the design of It's A Small World (my favorite ride!).



I'm sure that one look at her amazing handiwork and you'll see why I love her work. Believe me when I say how grateful I am for computers but I have to also say that hand-drawn and painted illustrations are just so amazing! It was really neat to see all of these works up close and to read about the work and detail that goes into producing feature films.

Fun fact: Disney's The Princess and The Frog used hand drawn animation! I LOVE to see traditional 2D media back in the forefront.

Stay tuned for another fabulous artist I learned about on my trip...