Mary GrandPré (born 1954 in South Dakota) is an American illustrator, best known for her illustrations in the US editions of the Harry Potter books, published by Scholastic. She resides in Sarasota, Florida with her family.
Mary GrandPré was born in South Dakota, but spent most of her life in Minnesota. She began drawing when she was only five years old, beginning with a reproduction of Mickey Mouse. By age ten, she was imitating Salvador Dalí, e...
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Mary GrandPré (born 1954 in South Dakota) is an American illustrator, best known for her illustrations in the US editions of the Harry Potter books, published by Scholastic. She resides in Sarasota, Florida with her family.
Mary GrandPré was born in South Dakota, but spent most of her life in Minnesota. She began drawing when she was only five years old, beginning with a reproduction of Mickey Mouse. By age ten, she was imitating Salvador Dalí, experimenting with stretched objects painted with oils, before graduating to copying black and white photos from the encyclopedia. GrandPré was educated at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
After her graduation, GrandPré spent several years as a waitress while working to be noticed by ad agencies and attempting to find her own style. Her drawing evolved into what she calls "soft geometry," featuring pastels used in a "colorful, light-hearted, and whimsical" manner. Her work is created completely by hand, without using a computer.
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