Art Inspirations Part 7: Mary Blair

Mary Blair is an American artist, animator, and designer. Mary graduated from the Chouinard Art Institute and is well-known for her works in making concept art for Cinderella, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and many more. 

Blair was a very important artist within the animation industry because she played a huge role in bringing fairy tales to life through her coloring styles and illuminating a dreamy effect on her concept work. Blair also impacted the animation industry by introducing modernism. 

Cinderella concept art by Mary Blair | Image by Antiques and the Art Weekly

When I look at Blair's work, it is truly magical and dreamy. This is achieved by forming intense contrast with the use of primary colors as well as the use of gouache and tempera in creating a swirling effect to produce fairytale and child-like illustrations. 

Peter Pan concept art by Mary Blair

Alice in Wonder concept art by Mary Blair

Take a closer look at Mary's illustrations, her style is simple yet abstract. From Peter Pan's concept art shown above, we can see the simplicity in the characters while the background remains very detailed.

Sleeping Beauty concept art by Mary Blair

Lastly, Mary's choice of color palette is what makes her artwork very distinct. Mary often has unique color pairings that might not necessarily work together, but she always finds a way to make them coincide well with each other. Also in Mary's illustrations, we can see she uses bright vivid colors, with the use of gouache, in drawing our attention, bringing us into the character's world. 

To conclude, Mary's art truly inspires me since I was a little girl. From her Little Golden Books design to designing children's books like "I Can Fly", I fall in love with Mary's enchanting illustrations. Mary is definitely a Disney legend who has contributed to the animation industry in multiple ways by adding a modernist twist to the industry.