Dean Morrissey

Dean Morrissey

Dean Morrissey (1951-2021) has been drawing and creating characters since his childhood in Boston. Initially inspired by Disney matte paintings and comic book heroes, he grew to appreciate the works of the masters, such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Pyle and N.C.Wyeth. Morrissey worked a variety of jobs until deciding to paint full time in the late 1970s. He worked as a freelance book cover illustrator for over 15 different publishers in New York and won numerous awards. Morrissey is self-taught and considers the demands of cover illustration to have been his art school. With more than a hundred memorable covers for more than a dozen book publishers of science fiction and fantasy to his credit, he has won numerous awards and honors for his book cover illustrations. Calling upon his skills as an artist and writer, Morrissey decided to weave the threads of reality, imagination, enchantment, and adventure to create a tale at once familiar and fantastic—Ship of Dreams. Named one of the ten best illustrated children’s books by The New York Times Book Review (1994), it was chosen as the theme for the internationally famous Saks Fifth Avenue Christmas windows. “By combining diverse elements—light, shadow, color and human warmth—I try to create an accessible universe,” he says. Dean divides his time between the creation of fine art and works to be included in his numerous book projects. His artwork has been used on the cover of close to 100 published books. In 2003, he won the coveted Chesley Best Product Illustration award for his Greenwich Workshop Fine Art Print, The Light Ship and was a 2004 Chesley nominee for Anna of the Celts. Morrissey lives with his wife Shan and his son on the South Shore of Massachusetts. Transporting viewers and readers to new realms of imagination is Dean Morrissey’s creative calling. Inspired by a belief that “a story never really ends,” he has created paintings and books that have achieved continual success. His 1997 book, The Great Kettles, won a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators.

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