Mary Blair

For ages I was barely aware of the ever-changing google logos. Sometimes they were nice, often they weren't, and rarely would I care enough to click off the home page to find out what they were about.

Then suddenly there was a run of some really recognisable ones, doodles that instantly caught my eye, and some really interesting interactive versions (I lost an inordinate amount of time to the in-built pacman game). I started to come around to the idea of commemorating something different every day with a little doodle. Clever. 

It's been a while since I've seen one that straight up made me smile. This morning though, I switched on my laptop and found this little beauty:

I knew this logo meant something to me, it immediately tugged at something in the furthest depths of my memory. It was more than just the colours or beautiful patterns (which I am openly obsessed with) but there was something with the expression on the face of the girl, her little hand holding the teeny paint brush with that squiggle of blue.

It turns out today is the 100^th birthday of Mary Blair, an American Artist who found fame working for Walt Disney Studies during the 40s. I was never the biggest Disney fan- I was especially never a fan of the Disney Princesses (I vividly remember watching Beauty and the Beast when I was little and only having eyes for the talking teapot and grandfather clock…) but there are some of those films that I could sit down and watch today (and have done in recent years with my niece). Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Dumbo were my three favourites (and The Jungle Book of course, but that goes without saying for anyone with a soul). And guess what...

Mary Blair worked heavily on all three of them. I am in love with this woman's work- it's so bright and beautiful, so of its time and carries so much of its own look. A style:

From early concept designs for Peter Pan...

To her illustration work for Simon and Schuster's 'Little Golden Book' series...

To calender designs...

To some of the most beautiful atomic-esque patterns I've seen...

To ice cream packaging...

To magical, amazing Alice.

I can't even begin to explain how many of my favourite things feature in her drawings: owls, trees, clouds, jungles, pirate ships, inuits, tipis... the list is endless.

I feel an obsession brewing here. Her style is so distinctive, so of its time and just so beautiful- I could live in a Mary Blair world.