About the artist

dragonfly, fabric, surface design, illustration, textile design, woven monkey, dress making, dress, sewing, homemade

 

Hello and welcome!

Originally from Essex in the UK, I was based for the last 11 years in Vejer de la Frontera, a beautiful white town on La Costa de la Luz in southern Spain.

Having enjoyed a recent spell in London I’m now traveling India for a few months.

Here’s a bit about my art projects:

dragonfly, fabric, surface design, illustration, textile design, woven monkey, dress making, dress, sewing, homemade, home sewing, made to measure, invisible zip, empire line, tied back, tunic, split sides

  • The Black Dawg – an illustrated poem about depression and hope. In 2016 I raised funds on Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform, to self-publish this beautiful picture book for adults which aims to raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health issues. It is a joint project with my friend Louis McIntosh who wrote the poem; I illustrated it. 

the black dawg, kathryn hockey, artist. illustrator, louis mcintosh, writer, poet, author, illustrated poem, depression. hope, picture book, illustration, mental health, black dog, kickstarter, snorkel, drowning, deep, dark, sea, breathe, presence, mindfulness

  • Sketching: whether alone or out with the Vejer Sketchers, I like to regularly crack open my watercolour paints for some loose drawing and splattery colouring. I particularly enjoying painting food.

strawberries, strawberry, fruit, fresa, fresas, conil, fruta, pen and watercolour, watercolour, water color, sketch, food, illustration, ilustracion, primavera, spring

  • Exhibitions: In January 2018 I showed examples of my illustrations at Marcel Snyders’ book launch for his play Té Verde (I designed the cover). In the last couple of years I had pieces included in group shows organised by Arte Vejer, La Pinturera and Vejer Inspira. I’ve also staged solo exhibitions in London, Cádiz and Vejer.

te verde, green tea, play, marcel snyders, arte vejer, exhibition, vejer de la frontera, castle, illustration, book cover, watercolour, pen and watercolour, art, drawing, painting, poster

graphic design, cockerel, retronuevo, vintage, tag, tapas, wild olive, wood, chopping board

icarus mendoza, sequence, three witches, book cover, novel, illustration, jackie cornwall

The writer Jackie Cornwall says

“I came to Kathryn Hockey’s art through a St. Ives prism, seeing in her clear colours and careful outlines the legacy of Ben Nicholson, Christopher Wood and Bryan Pearce. How wonderful then, that when I asked her to create a painting for a friend’s birthday, she gave me that most quintessential St. Ives discovery, a windowless windowsill! Her work vibrates with a life-affirming joie de vivre. Her ability to find colour and interest in unregarded objects is one of the most engaging aspects of her art.

Everything in Kathryn’s work has its own glamour, from bulging gas bottles to clustered flowers. A white skull, an elegantly strutting rooster, a squadron of peppers are almost tamed by her instinct for line and pattern, but in their exuberant colours nature has its way. A dancer’s boots, crowned with roses and creased with use, lead our eyes into a looking-glass world. Beyond her delicately wrought townscapes dance the lights of infinite possibility.

Sometimes cartoonish and stylised, sometimes lovingly detailed, her people are not strangers; they look straight into our hearts, and whether they smile, wink knowingly or merely look out at us from the sanctuary of their own thoughts, we know them and their humanity. To encounter one of her subjects is to find a friend. Her animals too, are real personalities.

Kathryn’s work would enliven any context, but in the brilliant light of the Costa de la Luz her feel for both colour and line have come together in a unique combination. She is a true artist, one who makes art out of everything she sees, and I trust that in the future, her reputation will increase as she deserves.”

You can see blog posts about all my latest creations here.