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Journey of an Artist

The first moments when I truly felt like I was an artist stand out in my mind so clearly. I was in the 5th grade. I was sitting, engulfed, in a huge brown recliner my family had in our living room, drawing images from a Disney Golden Book. All of a sudden I had begun to see each illustration as just a series of lines and shapes. When I copied those lines and shapes onto my paper I was able to recreate the images nearly exactly, or so my 5th grade self thought! As a teen, I loved sitting in the Dr. Seuss section of the Children's Library pouring over his fantastic illustrations, just trying to imagine how they had come about. In college, while pursuing my BFA in illustration, I had the opportunity to create ads for a Buffalo based magazine called Traffic East. It was everything that I had imagined to see my work in print, on a page. I had the bug! My dream from there was to get the opportunity to illustrate a children's book of my own.  While I am no Seuss, I sure did get my chance! Illustrating gives me the opportunity to give life to words through art. I cannot imagine a neater honor!

Ewe Did It!

Ewe, a sweet young sheep, loves to be silly, get dirty, have birthday parties, and dance. She dances, or at least tries to dance, all day long, but falls down again and again. With the help of her animal friends on the farm, Ewe finds a way to dance the night away! This story of patience, persistence and friendship will delight children with colorful illustrations and catchy rhyming text.

Song of the Earth

Stop! Be still! Take it all in! Song of the Earth celebrates the beauty and richness of the world we live in, the simple things, the natural wonders all around us. With rhythmic, descriptive text and deliciously refreshing illustrations, this book offers the reader a calm, reflective moment to appreciate the gifts of nature. Water color pieces created by young students are an inspiration to aspiring young illustrators.

Illustrations from Ewe Did It!

Author Testimonial

As an author, I have found that the most challenging part of publishing a book has been finding an illustrator who embodies the “perfect fit”. I have been so fortunate on this journey of self-publishing when it comes to that. One of my greatest finds was Janell York.

We met at a wedding reception in Buffalo and the rest is history! A plan was launched to attempt a cross-country, after-school illustrators’ club with some of her young art students; if all went as planned, they would illustrate my book, Song of the Earth. And so it began, this lovely little venture between Mesa, Arizona and Buffalo, New York. We zoomed, we conferenced, they sketched, I commented, we adjusted, and tah-dah – we published a book! The students were official illustrators, Janell had an opportunity to illustrate her first book cover, and I was the happiest author in the whole USA.

Shortly after that amazing experience, I decided I wanted Janell to illustrate my next book, Ewe Did It. Again, we communicated via email and texts … through a Pandemic … and ended up with the most precious book (if I do say so myself). Janell’s illustrations elevated the text in a way I never thought possible. She was able to breathe life into little Ewe, with tender expressions and soft watercolors. Ordinarily, all of these background details wouldn’t be necessary, but each of our publishing experiences was unique and reflected the incredible flexibility and creativity with which Janell carried out an assignment. Self-publishing allows me to have 100% control over choosing an illustrator and working with an illustrator, so having a person like Janell whose work ethic is as strong as her talent, made for a spectacular working relationship.

Janell’s talents are many, her creativity limitless, and her willingness to keep at it until there’s total agreement, make her the perfect fit. I would recommend her without a moment’s hesitation to anyone embarking upon the exhilarating journey of finding an artist/illustrator for an upcoming project. Janell is an honest, hard-working, beautiful soul, and I’m so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with her.

- Sandy Barton
Author of Ewe Did it! & Song of the Earth

Stay Connected

janellyorkart@gmail.com