Day Four: Meet the Illustrator, Jenna Holton!
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It was such a pleasure engaging in an international collaboration with illustrator Jenna Holton— who lives in Finland—on my book Today and Forever: A Narrative Coloring Book.
Through skillfully crafted landscape scenes, Jenna presents a vibrant natural world of plants, forests, and animals. Their pictures encourage children and adults alike to add an array of colors to each page of the book and through this, express their own vision of this story of resilience and hope.
Enjoy learning more about this talented illustrator and the thoughtful message embedded in every line of Jenna’s work.
D is for Debra, and J is for Jenna
Meet the Illustrator: Jenna Holton!
D: Tell me about yourself and your journey.
J: I have been making art since I was young and have always enjoyed drawing nature and animals. I mostly make fiber art and illustrations based on nature and anatomy as a way to explore various subjects.
D: When did you realize you were an artist and illustrator?
J: I’ve been an artist since maybe 11 years old, and I have been illustrating since my late teens.
D: What inspires your artistic style for your illustrations?
J: Nature, modern and contemporary art, as well as human and animal anatomy. I prefer using a more realistic style, but it translates well to cartoons quite well.
D: Are there specific themes you focused on while creating the artwork?
J: I wanted to express various good and bad days through a landscape. Of course, the animal characters’ expressions help with that, but I also wanted the plants and surrounding area to also reflect the emotion we were trying to go for in each picture.
D: For Today and Forever, how did you decide on the level of detail for each illustration to ensure it is enjoyable to color?
J: I tried to strike a balance between detailed and easy to color. As an art teacher, I know for young children coloring is more about the experience than it is about coloring in the lines, so I wanted to make pictures that would be fun to color together with adults, as well, who prefer more detailed coloring pages.
D: What tools do you use to create the illustrations?
J: I sketched out the basic ideas with pencil and paper, then used Clip Studio Paint to make the finished pieces.
D: How did you approach designing the activities in the book to complement the illustrations?
J: I worked together with Kindra on that. We both researched what activities are usually found in coloring books and educational printables and we worked together to make them fun and interesting and local to Virginia, where we’re both from.
D: Are there any hidden or subtle details in the artwork that readers might enjoy discovering?
J: I hid a lot of things underground and in the ant tunnels.
D: What was your favorite illustration or activity to create in the book?
J: The ant maze was my favorite to do since I thought “How can I make an ant tunnel system into something relatable?” and I figured that there were various rooms in those systems, so why not make it into a house maze?
D: Did you encounter any challenges during the illustration process, and how did you overcome them?
J: Not really. Kindra was a great help any time I was stuck on an idea or needed her opinion on ideas I had.
D: How do you approach creating inclusive and diverse artwork for a broad audience?
J: It’s something that I always think about and try to do in all of my illustrations like including people of all ages, skin tones, and abilities, though since this book only involved animals and plants, I tried to make it fun to color for anyone no matter their age or ability.
D: Do you have recommendations for color schemes or techniques readers can use with the illustrations?
J: I tend to stick to a realistic color palette, but imagine if this was on a completely alien planet where everything looked the same, but all the squirrels were purple!
D: How do you feel your work on this book contributes to its overall vision and message?
J: Good and bad days are universal experiences for everyone no matter what your background. Even animals have good and bad days! I think that this comes across fairly well through the story and pictures and I hope that our readers and colorers will enjoy and understand it, as well.
D: Are there any future projects or collaborations coming up?
J: Not yet!
D: How can people reach you?
J: My email is jennaholton.art@gmail.com
About Jenna Holton
A lifelong creative, Jenna has a special love for fiber art, but enjoys creating with nearly all media. A lover of nature and all things big and small, nature plays a central role in their artwork. Whether through illustrations, fiber art, snow sculpting or paintings, you can see the deep love seep through each nook and cranny.
Today and Forever: A Narrative Coloring Book is available on Amazon!
“Today and Forever” illustrates the concept of the continuation of life dedicated to children and adults everywhere who are impacted by gun violence.
Alongside loving illustrations and activities created by Jenna Holton, Debra Hill’s story of life grounds the reader, and curates a healing space for those impacted by the tragedies of gun violence. This book can be used as a resource by those versed in trauma-informed care, including but not limited to teachers, counselors, first responders, social workers, behavioral health specialists, and others.
Sample Pages
You will enjoy every page of illustrations in my new book, Today and Forever: A Narrative Coloring Book. Here is a sneak peek of pages from my book. PLEASE NOTE: You can download the sample pages for free and enjoy them.
About the Author, Debra Hill
Debra Hill is an independent gospel singer and writer in Virginia. Although blind, she debuted her first album, Daily Reverence, in 2018. She is a supporter of youth and women’s issues in the community. Follow her on Facebook @debrahillsings and visit her website at
DebraHillSings.com.
Join the American Council of the Blind of Virginia’s Email List
As a member of ACBVA, I encourage you to join our email list to be a part of a vibrant community of visually impaired persons, attend informative monthly online meetings, and learn more about important accessible resources.
For those interested in the benefits of the American Council of the Blind of Virginia (ACBVA) organization, you can also become a member, click the link below!
Join the American Council of the Blind of Virginia’s (ACBVA) Facebook Group
Special Thanks to Elizabeth Baber and Dr. Shakira for all that you do to make it happen.
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