“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