I have received many inquiries over the years about Dick and Jane artwork that was sold years ago from various art studios, signed by J. Sparks (Jim Sparks). J. Sparks' artwork was sold at The Oak Showcase in the Village Park Mall, in Laguna Beach, California during the 1970', sold as Dick and Jane Art, yet, his true involvement cannot be verified.
At this time, no one has been able to determine who J. Sparks is or was, not a solid clue as to his involvement with this series. Someone marketed J. Sparks and his artwork claiming he was an actual illustrator for the series, again this has not been verified. I contacted the publisher for the Dick and Jane school series, Scott, Foresman & Company and after checking their archive files they were not able to find any information on him, no record. It is remotely possible that J. Sparks assisted with artwork for the illustrators, and never received credit, but archived records do not give him credit for any of the artwork published in the Dick and Jane series.
The main illustrators were, Ellen Segner, Keith Ward, Eleanor Campbell, Connie Moran, John Merryweather, Charlotte Becker, Don Crane, Milo Winter, Walter Oschman, Bob Childress, Jack White, Rod Ruth, and others. Sadly, no books mention J. Sparks. If anyone has credible information on Jim Sparks, and can verify his involvement with the Dick and Jane Series, please contact me!
