From the Sketchbook:
Tania de Regil
This CBC series features illustrators sharing their creative process and providing context for their amazing artwork.
Our featured artist, Tania de Regil studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design in New York City before moving back to her native Mexico City. Tania takes us through her picture book, A New Home (Candlewick Press).
A New Home is the story of a boy from NYC moving to Mexico City and a girl from Mexico City moving to New York. Told in a shared voice, they express their fears about leaving home for a new and unfamiliar place. It is published in English and Spanish editions.
“One of my favorite spreads in the book is the one featuring the musicians and street food from each city. I believe that if you really want to get to know a city, you should listen to its music and try the food.
Illustrating this book was so much fun, but also quite challenging. I wanted to portray each city as accurately as possible while showing how similar they can be to one another, yet at the same time how unique each one really is. Having lived in both New York and Mexico City, it was great to be able to draw from personal experience and illustrate everyday city scenes that exhibit the cultural identity of each one.”
“As for the street food each city has to offer, well, I was thrilled to be able to add this element to my book. There is something so magical about stopping for something to eat from a street cart. It’s a complete experience; interacting with the vendors, eating while standing up, looking at people passing by. It’s simply wonderful! I added the grandmas to these images because it is something that my grandma and I used to do all the time. She loved pampering my brother and me by taking us out for an afternoon snack. It was our special thing to do together.”
“This book is so personal for me and I am so happy to share it with readers. I’ve always wanted to truly show my Mexico City, the one I grew up in, and the one I love. When I moved to NY I fell in love with its sparkling energy as well. As I was drawing the characters, I realized how much the little girl’s mom and dad ended up looking like my own parents. It was completely unintentional, but I guess it serves to show just how close to my heart this story really is!”
More of Tania de Regil’s final art can be found in A New Home,
her U.S publishing debut.
