“The only journey is the one within.”
_ Rainer Maria Rilke
Mary GrandPre’ began her career as an illustrator. The path that led her to that point started with her education at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her passion for light, color, drawing and design came together in evocative paintings, using a variety of mediums. Much of her focus was creating paintings for numerous picture books and book covers. While she has illustrated over 20 picture books, she is perhaps best known for her illustrations on the Harry Potter books. She has also worked as the conceptual artist on Dreamwork’s animated film “Antz” and on Blue Sky Studios’ animated film “Ice Age”.
Mary’s book illustrations possess highly personalized lyrical story interpretations, and now her fine art paintings carry on with a new sense of narrative that combine abstract painting with realism, creating a new kind of territory for her to travel through. .. and ultimately, for the viewer.
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Awards
ABBA American Booksellers Book of the Year 1999 / Harry Potter Series
Kirkus Notable Books
Young Hoosier Book Award Nomination
Caldecott Honor Award, 2015 / The Noisy Paint Box, The Sound and Color of Vasily Kandinsky
Society of Illustrators
The Original Art Show
Communications Arts / Annual publication
Graphis International / Annual publication
Print / Annual Publication
Graphic Design / USA DESI Awards
Exhibitions
Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Mpls MN October, 2004 Solo exhibitions , (cont)
ArtOrg / Northfield, Mn 2005
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA.. 2008
“Women In Illustration / Contemporary Visions and Voices” Norman Rockwell Museum
Stockbridge, Mass 2004
Closson’s Gallery / Cincinnati, OH, 2004
Clients
Nordstrom
Target
Ogilvy & Mather
BBD&O
Atlantic Monthly
TIME Magazine
Business Weekly
Random House Publishing
Scholastic Publishing
Disney Publishing
Warner Brothers
Harper Collins
Little Brown Publishing
Hyperion Books
Dreamworks
Blue Sky Studios