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All Aboard The Ship of Dreams
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The young and young at heart are enthralled by the imaginative storytelling artwork
of Dean Morrissey. His ability to weave the threads of reality, imagination, enchantment,
and adventure makes his images an exciting journey for his audience. One thread
weaves through Morrissey’s artwork: small, recognizable items fill the canvas,
along with images of dents and worn spots suggesting a history that he leaves to
the viewer to interpret.
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A native of Boston, Morrissey still resides in Massachusetts. After almost a dozen
years of illustrating over one hundred book covers as an avocation in the evenings
and winning accolades for his work, he decided to become a full-time painter. In
1994, Abrams published Morrissey’s first story that he both wrote and illustrated.
“Ship of Dreams” was named one of the ten best illustrated children’s
books of the year by “The New York Times Book Review.” (The book has since
been translated into German and French.)
Images from “Ship of Dreams” have become the theme of a decade-long Christmas
season exhibit in Saks Fifth Avenue store windows across the country, have appeared
on the cover of the prestigious FAO Schwarz Christmas catalog, and served as model
for Muvico, a 21-screen themed movie theatre in Orlando, Florida. (A scale model
of the Sandman’s ship is suspended in the lobby of the Cineplex.) Morrissey’s
second authored and illustrated book, “The Great Kettles,” won a prestigious
Gold Medal from The Society of Illustrators (a professional organization of his
peers) for his artwork.
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Dean Morrissey incorporates diverse elements into his rich and colorful oil paintings
– light, shadow, color, and human warmth. Whether Morrissey is painting a scene
from a place called Great Kettles, or the workshop of toymaker Sam Thacher in Old
Bridgeport Village, or a street scene of Charles Dickens’ Nineteenth Century
London in his new illustrations for “A Christmas Carol,” the storytelling
artist makes his artwork a centerpiece of interest wherever people gather.
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