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You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Decorate Your Home » Drawing Inspiration: The Artwork of Mary Blair

Drawing Inspiration: The Artwork of Mary Blair

by Lindsay Ballard on May 9, 2014 8 Comments

I have pre-ordered exactly one thing in my life.  It wasn’t a copy of Frozen for my kids or a must-have Xbox game.  It was a book filled with the work of an artist who died not long after I was born.

Drawing Inspiration: The Artwork of Mary Blair

Mary Blair’s artwork is a thing of obsession to me.  Her work elicits such nostalgia.

Drawing Inspiration: The Artwork of Mary Blair

Y’all, I literally gasp with every page I turn.

I’m not going to pretend that I know anything at all about art.  I’m not going to give you a bio on Mary Blair other than to tell you that she worked with Walt Disney on visual concepts for Cinderella, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland and on creating the It’s a Small World ride at the 1964 New York World’s Fair (which later became a ride at the Disney parks).

Drawing Inspiration: The Artwork of Mary Blair

Drawing Inspiration: The Artwork of Mary Blair

Drawing Inspiration: The Artwork of Mary Blair

Walt Disney described Mary Blair as being able to use colors that he didn’t even know existed. I’m pretty sure that’s the best compliment anyone has ever given another person.  Her work is filled bright colors and graphic shapes.  Instead of trying to make her subjects seem realistic, she seemed happy to make sure that they stayed two dimensional.  They are fun and happy.

Drawing Inspiration: The Artwork of Mary Blair

Drawing Inspiration: The Artwork of Mary Blair

I’ve been working on a project here in my house that I’ve posted a few times on Instagram and Facebook.  Someone replied, “That reminds me of It’s a Small World. LOL.”

Drawing Inspiration: The Artwork of Mary Blair

Well, yeah.  It does me, too.

I certainly don’t pretend that I can pull off anything even remotely close to what Mary Blair was able to accomplish in her lifetime.  But, I subconsciously draw from her creativity and artistry when I’m selecting colors for projects or lines for walls.

It’s so amazing to have fallen in love with her when I was a child riding a little boat in a shallow river.  Of course, I didn’t know who “she” was or didn’t get “why” I loved her.  That sort of thing comes with time.

Where do you draw your inspiration?

P.S. The book is called Magic Color Flair: The World of Mary Blair (Amazon affiliate link) by John Canemaker.  He has curated an exhibit of Mary’s work at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.  It runs through September 7, and I beg of you to go see it if you are in the area!

P.P.S. If you want to see more of Mary’s work, I have a Pinterest board dedicated to her.

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

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Comments

  1. ira lee says

    May 9, 2014 at 12:20 pm

    wow!! no wonder it looked familiar- all those old disney cartoons and movies! i am now an instant fan! thank you for sharing! i love her art!

    Reply
  2. Annette says

    May 9, 2014 at 6:04 pm

    Wow, I am going to do some research of Mary Blair. Thank you!

    Reply
  3. Darcie says

    May 10, 2014 at 1:01 pm

    I absolutely ADORE the cute and quirky style of Mary Blair! No one else just like her, for sure. Way back when, I worked both at Disneyland and at a Disney Store in the mall nearby with a Gallery location, so I was already familiar with her work. Her shapes are just so different than the way I think!

    Reply
  4. Kami says

    May 13, 2014 at 6:13 pm

    I draw my inspiration from What Not To Wear. The whole “color-pattern-texture-shine” works for clothes, but I also try incorporating it into my house. Mixing bright colors in the couch and art, pattern in throw pillows, texture in wood, metal, and faux fur have created dynamic, visually interesting spaces. I’m still working on shine.

    I also am continually inspired by a roommate who was 32 when I was only 21 (I rented a room in her house) so I saw her as “SO MATURE!”. Her motto was “People, plants, animals, books, and art make a well decorated home”. At that point I didn’t own any animals, plants, or art, but I started moving in that direction and it has stayed with me. Are books the “coolest” accessories around? Maybe or maybe not, but I love them and they are incorporated into my decor for each room in my house. And I’m working on the plants bit (keeping them alive!). It’s always a work in progress!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Jumpstart June - Makely School for Girls says:
    July 2, 2014 at 10:16 am

    […] really, the biggest, baddest, most looming project that I have is to finish painting my Mary Blair inspired feature wall.  I finally finished drawing it out, but this is all the painting I’ve made time to do in […]

    Reply
  2. Coffee-mate Talk with David Bromstad says:
    August 4, 2014 at 10:52 am

    […]  David has a fabulous sense of color and he is a former Disney illustrator…and we know how I dig Disney illustrators for their unique take on shape, color and […]

    Reply
  3. Week 4 Continued – Animation Research and Practice – 22nd October 2018 – BB's Animation says:
    October 23, 2018 at 2:02 pm

    […] http://makelyhome.com/mary-blair/ […]

    Reply
  4. Week 6 Continued – Animation Research and Practice – 5th November 2018 – BB's Animation says:
    November 5, 2018 at 1:14 pm

    […] http://makelyhome.com/mary-blair/ – About a book containing art of Mary Blair – “Magic Color Flair The Art of Mary Blair” […]

    Reply

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


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