The Welsh Who Built Chicago Book Publication

The brief, from Welsh/American author Dilys Rana, was to illustrate various actual historical events affecting the life of the Owens family who emigrated to the United States in the 1830s, searching for a new beginning in Chicago.  The highly detailed illustrations were completed over 8 months, with a significant amount of the time being spent on researching and sketching out the various scenes. My objective was to emulate the lithographic style of the era as accurately as possible in pen and ink, capturing the atmosphere and the story of the times and events in a way that struck an emotional chord as well as being historically accurate.