Pen and Wash Demonstration for Burnham Art Club

I chose this beautiful white weatherboard house as the subject of my recent pen and wash demonstration for Burnham Art Club.

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My painter’s eye was drawn by the symmetry, bold outlines and interesting shapes…and also by the weatherboard bin store!

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Many thanks for the invitation to share my tips and techniques, and for such a kind and attentive reception from all the lovely art club members who came along.

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It was my first demo so I was a bit nervous beforehand, but once I got going I really enjoyed it.

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Swan Hotel Custom Print

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This Swan Hotel custom print was an 80th birthday gift for an ex-landlord of the iconic Maldon establishment from his family.

I may have mentioned before that Marc Bolan, David Bowie (Jones at the time) and Joe Cocker all played gigs in the back room in the 60s!

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A3 prints of my Maldon High Street series parts 1-8 and any of the individual buildings included in those paintings are now available to order. Please drop me a line.

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Maldon House Commission


maldon, essex, town house, house, illustration, landscape, commission, architectureDelighted to complete this pen and wash commission of an elegant Maldon townhouse for its splendid owner.

Please get in touch if you’d like a portrait of your own beautiful home.

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Little Totham Church Commission

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I was commissioned to make a drawing of Little Totham Church for a wedding anniversary gift. It really is a beautiful building.

Burnham Bungalow Commission

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Very pleased to complete this pen and wash commission of a lovely Burnham bungalow for a lovely person.

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Please get in touch if you’d like a portrait of your beautiful home!

 

“Looking Up” – Pen and Wash Portraits of Maldon High Street

I was delighted to show my pen and wash portraits of beautiful Maldon High Street in the Maeldune Centre, at the top of Market Hill, Maldon, from 17th August to 2nd September 2023.

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Here I am on the launch night, sitting in front of the half size fine art prints I had made of the original paintings. Click here to find out more about the prints and buy them.

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The exhibition had a tremendously generous reception from Maeldune Centre visitors and volunteers alike. By far the star of the show was the black and white print I had made for the table tops in the centre of the gallery. People had great fun colouring it in and writing on it; the comments and shared memories of Maldon High Street were really touching.

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Maldon’s mayor, Andrew Lay, and young Blake hone their colouring skills at the launch party.

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Maldon historian Stephen Nunn visited a couple of times and I was able to add some fascinating facts about the High Street to the interactive artwork as he dictated. Here he is with my dad, Ron, who was also very enthusiastic and generous with his High Street memories. 

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Click this link to see a video of the interactive artwork and learn some fun and fascinating facts!

The Maldon Society is in the process of adding photos of the interactive piece and digital versions of the original paintings to their archive. I am truly an honour.

Here’s what Stephen said about the exhibition along with some other reviews:

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Pen and Wash Portraits of Maldon High Street

I was born in Maldon (as was my dad), and I lived there until I was 18 so I feel a very strong bond with the place despite having lived away for 30 plus years.

 I decided to paint some of Maldon’s most beautiful buildings. 

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While I was taking reference photos I got the urge to paint all the façades from the old police station in West Square down to the Rose & Crown on the corner of Butt Lane. 

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Part of the loveliness of buildings comes from their relationship to their neighbours; that’s something we could also say about ourselves.

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That stretch of High Street was too long to fit onto one piece of paper so I divided it into eight sections and started making rough sketches. Then I challenged myself to finish all the paintings in a year and exhibit them at the Maeldune Heritage Centre, which is one of the buildings included in the series.


kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, art, exhibition, maeldune centre, maldon, high street, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, drawing, paintings, illustration, buildings, architecture, essex, art for sale, moot hall, fine art prints, maeldune heritage centre, exhibition, mrs salisburys, coles, timpsons, kate lifestyleThe exhibition is called “Looking Up” because it occured to me, while I was taking the reference photos, how rarely I take the time to stop, stand still for a while, look up and really appreciate my surroundings. Perhaps you’re the same?

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And since I’ve painted these buildings I’ve notice that they’ve become more vibrant to me. I mean that when I walk or drive past them now, they seem brighter and more alive. It’s as if by getting to know all the little details of their faces I’ve made friends with them!

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The exhibition runs from 17th August to the 5th September 2023, do drop by if you can! There’s an low tech interactive element – please do some colouring in and share your High Street memories on the large black and white print in the centre of the gallery.

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Fine Art Prints

I’ve had some beautiful fine art prints made which capture the essence of the original paintings at half their size. Click here to buy prints.

The ink is lightfast, so it won’t deteriorate over time and the museum quality paper is Hahnemuhle William Turner 310gsm, which has a texture and weight similar to the watercolour paper on which I painted the originals.

Exhibition

Read about my summer exhibition at the Maeldune Heritage Centre here.

Summer Paintings

The Olde White Harte Hotel

burnham art trail, art on the quay, the olde white harte hotel, architectural, illustration, quay, burnham-on-crouch, pen and wash, watercolour, painting, drawing, landscape, hotel, public house, traditional pubI made this pen and wash piece over the two Sundays of Art on the Quay, which were part of the Burnham Art Trail. It was the first time I’d participated in the Art Trail and it was an excellent experience. Click here to read more about it.

Steam Tug Brent

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I made the pen and wash piece above for this year’s exhibition celebrating this iconic vessel in Maldon. Read more about the exhibition here.

 

Steam Tug Brent Exhibition 2023

I was delighted to submit a painting for the annual exhibition of locally made artworks celebrating the Steam Tug Brent which ran for a week in July 2023 in the Octagon at St Mary’s church.

In preparation I paddled out with my kayak buddy to get a photo from an interesting angle. I wanted to show The Brent with St Mary’s Church and its Octagon in the background because that’s where the exhibition would be held.

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I used that photograph as reference while I made my pen and wash painting (above).

There was a generous and varied selection of beautiful works shown in the exhibition, the youngest contributor being under 4 years old and the oldest having just celebrated their 93rd birthday.

Photographs of the exhibition space

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Burnham Art Club – Spring 2023

Grapnells Farm, Wallasea Island

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 Just as the spring weather became gentle enough for open air painting I ventured out onto Burnham Quay. Those two black headed gulls kindly adopted a stylish pose on the post for just long enough for me to sketch them. Got to love an Essex gull.

Sharings’ Wisteria

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Struck by the glorious wisteria adorning Sharings cottage one spring morning, I quickly snapped a photo hoping to make a painting of the scene at a later date. I worked from that photo to make the pen outline and then went back to sit outside the cottage and paint the watercolour washes. Quite suddenly a cloud of bees appeared and started settling on the cars parked behind me. “Keep calm and carry on,” I said to myself before scarpering sharpish a couple of minutes later as the swarm intensified. Such drama for a calm spring morning.

Burnham Art Trail 2023

Both these pen and wash pieces are on show in my Burnham Art Trail venue: Holicity Health, 140 Station Road from 24th June to 2nd July 2023. That’s number 12 on the Art Trail Map.

They are framed and priced at £100, please contact me for more details.