The City of Dreams
“We could see buildings so tall I wondered they didn’t topple over in the wind. We could see people walking and talking and going about their lives – in America!”
- Judi Curtin
I’m delighted to introduce my latest book with Judi Curtin and O’Brien Press - ‘Sally in The City of Dreams.’ Once again this is a historical tale which takes a look back at the lives of those who emigrated from Ireland in the early 1900s – bound for a new and exciting life in America. The story captures the journey from a damp and dark Ireland to the hustle and bustle of New York City, where many a new experience was sure to be found after stepping off the ship.
The attire of early 1900s lower-class girls and women in Ireland was unexpectedly colourful and decorative. They included rich handmade fabrics of intricate patterns including plaid and paisley, along with vibrant woollen floral designs. The shawl and scarf were a ubiquitous staple - offering a comfortable layer against the cold and rain, while also presenting a sense of style and personality. I decided that the three young girls mentioned in the book - Sally, Bridget and Julia would each be enrobed in their own beautiful shawls - a different colour and pattern for each girl.
New York City was obviously very different to how it looks today! I had to make sure the landscape was in keeping with the early 1900s period, and be careful not to include landmark buildings which were built after 1911. Surprisingly it wasn’t too easy to find a lot of images from this period, or those which were visibly referenced as such. However what I did find gave me a good idea of the style of architecture, signage that was used on buildings, and the ‘layering’ of the streetscapes.
With my references fully absorbed in my mind, and having read the story also, I then marked-out different rough thumbnails for the cover (as you can see in the below image), and I was happy with one of these sketches to progress with (above image in red pencil). Moving on from the red sketchy process, I then worked-up a rough for the client which will be the base sketch for the final cover drawing. I wanted to indicate excitement and moving forward with the composition, and so the girls move along to the right, caught in the mist of New York City’s docks, with the myriad of tall and exciting buildings in the background. Lady Liberty, the first ‘person’ one would see on arrival, looks down protectively over the girls with her welcoming gaze. As the book is set in 1911, I created an Art Nouveau inspired frame for the scene, which would also hold the authors name and publisher logo.
After sketching ideas, I then move on to choosing the colour palette. This stage can take quite a while to figure out as I do tend to procrastinate and fall down the deep hole of endless choices! Details such as the time period, hair colours mentioned in the story, or particular buildings and landmarks that appear in the book can make choosing a palette a little easier. As the Statue of Liberty is a prominent feature of the cover, I knew a muted aqua green would be used, along with various tones of brown for the hair colours. Then I chose complimentary colours to those, such as reds and oranges. As you can see from the palette I created in Procreate, I created tones and tints from these base colours, so the palette still retains a limited colour range which helps to harmonise a busy scene such as this.
Here’s the final cover! The title has been foiled in a hypnotising hue, and the Art Nouveau frame and author name has been finished with a spot gloss. It’s always such a delight to receive my copies in the post, and to finally hold the book in my hands. I’m always so worried that the colours may not print well from screen to printed copy, but thankfully the final product looks just as I imagined. ‘Sally in The City of Dreams’ will be released in all good book stores from October 10th. Please show your support for Irish authors, illustrators, publishers and book stores and pick up a copy or two from your local book provider. Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed reading about the process. ~ Rachel x