Category Archives: Illustrations

Burnham Art Club – Winter 2022-23

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Happy to present the remaining pen and wash paintings I made between December 2022 and February 2023.

sunset, trees, winter, silhouette, landscape, sky, clouds, essex, mayland, essex, burnham art club, pen and wash, drawing, painting, illustration, watercolour, watercolor

Above and below, a couple more attempts to capture the colourful sky as the winter sun sets behind our neighbours’ poplar trees.

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And since I’m partial to a silhouette, here’s Asheldham church backlit by a January sunset.

winter, leaves, maldon, essex, burnham art club, pen and wash, drawing, painting, illustration, watercolour, watercolor

While taking a short, time killing wander around Maldon one December evening I noticed these illuminated leaves still clinging to a tree behind the Blue Boar pub.

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It never ceases to amaze me how winter pansies can continue to bloom after being repeatedly frozen, aparently solid. 

chickens, hens, birds, mayland, essex, burnham art club, pen and wash, drawing, painting, illustration, watercolour, watercolor

The two beauties above live in the neighbourhood.

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My mum bought this beautiful Singer for £32, 12 shillings and thruppence in 1962 which is worth between £658 and £873 depending on your inflation calculator. 

Burnham Art Club – November 2022

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Even if I can’t get to Burnham Art Club meetings on a Tuesday morning, to either paint out in the open air or inside the Art Club meeting hall, I set time aside to make a new painting at home.

These are the paintings I made in November.

tillingham, village, essex, dengie, landscape, bricks, tiles, weatherboard,pen and wash, drawing, painting, illustration, architecture, church, rooftops, chimneys, watercolour, watercolor

I actually made a version of this view of Tillingham Church about six months ago in May. I drove to Tillingham on a bright morning and sat drawing in the street until the chill from the wind got a bit uncomfortable. The passersby were mostly curious and friendly and the guy whose house I was sitting outside kindly offered me a cuppa. He’d overestimated the warmth of the sunshine too – he came out wearing shorts and no top!

I was out of practice back then and although the painting  came out ok, I wasn’t happy with the composition so I redid it this month.

cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, pen and wash, drawing, painting, illustration, food, homegrown, watercolour, watercolor

We’ve still got tomatoes growing in our greenhouse here in Mayland. I was struck by the elegance of this particular branch as it draped over the bamboo cane. I also love the colour gradation of the fruits as they ripen at differnet rates. 

pen and wash, drawing, painting, illustration, flower, rose, floral, botanical, homegrown, watercolour, watercolor

And finding this beautiful rose blooming in our neighbours’ garden while I was house  sitting recently was a lovely surprise. Its scent was diivine but, sadly, capturing that was beyond me!

sunset, trees, winter, silhouette, landscape, sky, clouds, essex, mayland, essex, burnham art club, pen and wash, drawing, painting, illustration, watercolour, watercolor

You may recognise the form of the trees above from a painting I made almost exactly a year ago.

It’s the view from my bedroom window, and by November the sun has crept around the house to set behind the neighbours’ poplars, with Mayland Hill in the background.

Although the silhouette of the trees is basically unchanged, there’s huge variation and sometimes drama in the sky colours as the sun goes down. 

Autumn Sketches

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watercolour, watercolor, autumn, leaves, drawing, painting, illustration, red, orange, yellow, pen and wash, sketchbook, sketch

I was out walking one day and these beautiful fallen leaves seemed just too wonderful to leave behind. I wanted to paint the background black as a contrast to the bright leaves.

squash, drawing, painting, watercolour, pen and wash, autumn, vegetable, food, illustration

Here’s a pen and wash study of a little squash I grew in the summer this year, I love that deep, dark green and the lighter verdigris veins that demarkate the segments.

I added a digital background to the version below as I thought the orange would contrast well with the green.

squash, drawing, painting, watercolour, pen and wash, autumn, vegetable, food, illustration

Brent – Group Exhibition

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Back at the end of the 1970s, aged 10-11, I had a brilliant teacher for my last year of primary school; Janet Hall. She was a gentle, creative person with flowing hair, flowing skirts and clogs, and she lived on this boat. The Steam Tug Brent.brent, steam tug, boat, maldon, essex, heritage

I’ve had the good fortune to have had enjoyed some excellent travel adventures but one of the best was during that last year of primary school. Mrs Hall arranged for our class to travel by boat (not the Brent!) from Maldon to Saint Osyth’s Priory. I still remember that exhilarating feeling of freedom as we skimmed across the water that dark grey morning with a hair whipping wind. Below – my school photo from around that time.budding artist

I got back in touch with Janet having returned to Essex after many years away. As luck would have it she was on the deck of the Brent as I walked on Maldon’s prom one day. Once Covid restrictions eased we met for a coffee and caught up on the intervening years.

Janet told me the story of the Brent’s rescue from the salvage yard in 1971, the years when she became the Hall family home through to the Steam Tug Brent Trust being set up in 2010 as a means of raising money and a voluntary workforce to conserve and restore this lovely old boat. 

The Brent really is a labour of love and I highly recommend signing up for the supporters’ newsletter where you can see many beautiful photos and read the full story. steam tug brent contacts

The Brent has achieved iconic status after 50 years in Maldon. To celebrate, a group exhibition of Brent related artworks was staged at St Mary’s Church Octagon in July 2021. The range, number and quality of pieces was really impressive; models, paintings on metal and board, watercolours, textile pieces, primary school submissions. Really lovely.

I was delighted to be invited to contribute, I made the pen and wash sketch below and helped to hang some of the pictures in the exhibition space.brent, steam tug, boat, maldon, essex, pen and wash, watercolour, painting, drawing, sketch

Circumstances, Covid and otherwise, have so far conspired to prevent me from getting on board on one of Brent’s open days. I’d love to have a really good look around, and of course it would be marvelous to see her fully restored and sailing under steam power again one day.

Hollyhock Bookmark

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After many years admiring other people’s summer hollyhock displays I finally managed to grow some from seed this year. My Mum loves hollyhocks too, she had collected the seeds from some beautiful plants that were growing out of the concrete at the edge of a car park in town. I think the fact that such delicate but exuberant loveliness can thrive on apparently nothing adds to the wonder of the hollyhock. The name is also a bonus for a Hockey!

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I noticed recently that my Mum’s bookmark had been well used into tattiness so I painted her a new hollyhock bookmark for her birthday.

Water resistant pen, watercolour paint, 300gsm watercolour paper.

Bespoke Birthday Card

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bespoke, birthday card, centenary, 100, birthday, cake, cup cake, candles, nan, godmother, gift, pen and wash, watercolour, painting, drawing

My godmother recently turned 100 – what an achievement! 

So I made a bespoke birthday card for her special birthday.

Mrs Salisbury’s

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mrs salisbury, afternoon tea, cake, sandwiches, tea time, vol-au-vent, cup of tea, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawing

Inspired by the deliciously beautiful photos on the Instagram feed of Mrs Salisbury’s Tea Room and Restaurant I decided to make an illustration. I do love to paint food…

…I also love to eat cake but alas I’ve still not had the chance to sample Mrs Salisbury’s delights – if they’re half as tasty as the look they’ll be well worth the wait. I can’t remember the last time I had a vol-au-vent.mrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, cake, sandwiches, tea time, vol-au-vent, cup of tea, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawing, border, detailThe home of Mrs Salisbury’s is a delightfully pink house on the corner of Bright’s Path and Maldon High Street and the stairs up from their front door are tiled in this lovely black and white pattern, so I wanted to incorporate that into the border design.cake stand, detail, mrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, cake, sandwiches, tea time, vol-au-vent, cup of tea, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawingmrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, cake, sandwiches, tea time, vol-au-vent, cup of tea, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawing, red velvet cake, victoria sponge, chocolate cake, detailmrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, macaron, tea time, cup of tea, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawing, heart cookie, scone, clotted cream mrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, tea time, strawberry, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawingmrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, tea time, vol-au-vent, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawing, cup of tea, sandwiches

Winter Trees 1

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hybrid black poplar, trees, poplar, winter, essex, countryside, silhouette, drawing, sketchbook, landscape, illustration, black and white

It’s easy to make excuses not to sketch: my shoulder hurts, the weather’s too hot, the weather’s too cold, too wet, too windy, it’s winter – I’m uninspired, there’s nothing to see…

Then I started to pay attention to how beautiful the sky can be as the winter sun sets behind skeletal trees. Its position slightly shifting everyday so that eventually it’s setting over the road and visible from my bedroom window, which has a radiator under it.

So with no discomfort excuses I succumbed to the urge to try and capture this lovely view. I drew the trees in water resistant pen at a leisurely pace and left my sketchbook on the windowsill with my brushes, a jar of water and my paint box so that the next time the sunset was dramatic I could quickly paint the watercolour wash over the top.

hybrid black poplar, trees, poplar, winter, essex, countryside, silhouette, drawing, sketchbook, landscape, illustration, watercolour, watercolor, painting, sunset

I repainted this version so that I could sell the painting without disfiguring my sketchbook and it’s now my plan to redraw the trees in preparation for a new attempt next time there’s drama in the sky. 

Orchid Drawing

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orchid, white orchid, flower, pot plant, drawing, watercolour, watercolor, painting, sketchbook, illustration, artist, illustrator, kathryn hockey

I made this drawing of a beautiful white orchid in my sketchbook with water resistant pen then coloured it with watercolour paints. I was thinking of colouring the background but after a quick poll on Instagram I decided to leave it white for a more graphic and relaxing effect.

Coffee Pot Candle

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A friend asked me to make another of these little coffee pot candle illustrations which I first produced back in 2014. It’s a fun technique: first drawing in charcoal, then painting with acrylic but the crackle glaze proved to be a bit tricky this time and took a few goes to get right. I rubbed white oil paint and beeswax on top of the glaze once I was happy with the cracks and finally a smear of glitter gel for the festive finish.coffee pot, coffee, candle, flame, illustration, drawing, charcoal, painting, acrylic, crackle glaze, craquellure, cracks, glitter