My Inspirations
by Artist Lauren Mentzel
My favorite 2 artists, and quite the dichotomy at that… art deco designer and an animation trailblazer.
© Erté - All Rights Reserved
Inspiration #1
Erté: Art Deco Icon & Designer
Erté (pronounced “Air-tay”) was the pseudonym of Romain de Tirtoff (1892–1990), a Russian-born French artist and designer famous for his elegant, glamorous Art Deco designs. He worked in fashion, costume, stage design, and graphic arts, creating images that became iconic representations of the 1920s and 1930s style.
Some key points about Erté:
Fashion and Illustration: Erté designed for Harper’s Bazaar and created illustrations that blended stylized figures, flowing lines, and luxurious details. His drawings often depicted elongated, elegant women in dramatic, theatrical costumes.
Theatrical Work: He designed costumes and sets for the Folies Bergère, the Metropolitan Opera, and other stage productions.
Art Deco Icon: His work epitomizes the Art Deco movement—geometric forms, rich textures, metallics, and stylized figures.
Legacy: Even today, Erté’s designs influence fashion, jewelry, and graphic arts. His prints, scarves, and posters are highly collectible.
Fun fact: Erté lived to be 98 years old, actively creating almost until his death, and left behind a massive body of work across multiple media
Inspiration #2
Mary Blair: Animation Trailblazer - She is the best color stylist in the world!
© Mary Blair/Disney - All Rights Reserved
Mary Blair (1911–1978) was a trailblazing American artist and designer whose vision helped define the look of mid-20th-century animation, theme parks, and illustration, yet for much of her career, she worked behind the scenes, often overshadowed by the men at the forefront, especially Walt Disney himself. She was exceptionally influential, and her style continues to inspire designers, animators, and artists today. Here’s a detailed look at her life and impact:
Early Life and Education: Born Mary Browne Robinson in McAlester, Oklahoma, she showed artistic talent from an early age.
She studied at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, one of the most important art schools feeding talent into the animation industry.
After graduation, she began a career in illustration and children’s book art, which emphasized her bold use of color and whimsical imagination.
Career at Disney:
Mary Blair joined Walt Disney Studios in the 1940s during a period when the studio was experimenting with new artistic styles.
She quickly became known for her vivid color palettes, stylized forms, and modernist sensibility, which contrasted with Disney’s more realistic animation style of the 1930s.
Blair’s big break came when she was sent to South America as part of the U.S. government’s goodwill tour during WWII, a trip commissioned by Disney that led to her helping shape the look of “Saludos Amigos” (1942) and “The Three Caballeros” (1944). Her watercolors and color studies for these films became the backbone of the movies’ visual style.
Iconic Disney Contributions:
1) Concept Art for Animated Classics
She did concept and color styling for “Cinderella” (1950), “Alice in Wonderland” (1951), and “Peter Pan” (1953).
Her bold, abstracted shapes and vibrant colors brought a fresh, modern feel to Disney animation, giving these films their lasting visual identity.
2) Theme Park Design: Blair was instrumental in designing the color scheme and whimsical look of “It’s a Small World”, one of Disney’s most beloved attractions.
Her design work extended to other Disneyland and Disney World projects, blending playful shapes, bright colors, and geometric patterns that made Disney parks visually unforgettable.
3) Commercial and Print Work: Blair also designed illustrations for books, advertisements, and magazine covers, showcasing her versatility beyond animation.
Her style was instantly recognizable: simple, almost childlike shapes elevated by expressive color and rhythm.
Challenges and Overlooked Recognition:
Despite her massive influence, Blair often worked “behind the man”, meaning Walt Disney’s fame overshadowed the contributions of female artists like her.
The animation industry at the time was heavily male-dominated, and women’s roles were often limited to “inking and painting,” not conceptual art. Blair broke through these barriers through sheer talent and distinctive vision.
Only later in life and posthumously did her work receive widespread recognition in the form of exhibitions, retrospectives, and books devoted to her art.
Style and Legacy:
Color: Blair’s palette was bold, bright, and often unconventional, combining colors that weren’t traditionally seen together in animation.
Shapes: She favored geometric, flattened forms and stylized characters, almost abstract in nature.
Whimsy: Her work exudes a playful, joyous spirit, balancing sophistication and childlike wonder.
She influenced animation, children’s illustration, graphic design, and theme park aesthetics.
Today, Mary Blair is celebrated as one of the most important and underappreciated figures in Disney history, a woman whose imagination shaped a cultural legacy and whose artistry continues to inspire creatives worldwide.
Here’s a visual timeline of
Mary Blair’s career showing
some of her most iconic works:
© Mary Blair/Disney - All Rights Reserved
© Mary Blair/Disney - All Rights Reserved
© Mary Blair/Disney - All Rights Reserved
© Mary Blair/Disney - All Rights Reserved
Fun fact: Walt Disney reportedly said about her work: “She is the best color stylist in the world.” Yet for decades, her name was not as well known as the films she helped create—a true example of an incredible talent shining from behind the scenes.
