About the 2026 Artist:

Julian Plum is an illustrator and author with a deep love of colors, stories, and creatures. He can be found at every art market in Ithaca, but also in Newfield with his spouse and cats, illustrating warm, colorful worlds in gouache. His first illustrated book, Whose Tree Is This? (Marilyn Singer, with Millbrook Press) came out in April to delight anyone who likes trees and cicadas and other critters, and his second, The House That Feels Like Me, written by Sasha Allen, comes out with Little, Brown Young Readers / Alvina Ling Books in early spring 2027.  When he’s not painting, he wanders the woods making friends with ferns and slugs.