About the artist

Hello and welcome!

I returned to my home county of Essex in the spring of 2020 after a decade or so of living, painting and designing in the south of Spain. I’m so grateful for all the opportunities to discover and paint the many delights of this beautiful county.

This is me, taking a moment, in front of my series of Maldon High Street fine art prints at the launch for my Maeldune Centre exhibition.looking up, exhibition, maeldune centre, maldon, high street, pen and wash, buildings, architecture, colouring in, community project, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, mayor, share memories, art for sale, visit maldon, essex

I do take commissions – please drop me a line!

Here’s a bit more about my other art projects:

  • Exhibitions: I was really touched by the generous reception for my exhibition of pen and wash portraits of beautiful Maldon High Street which ran in the Maeldune Heritage Centre from 17th August to 2nd September 2023. Read more about it here.

maeldune heritage centre, art, exhibition. art show, art for sale, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, art, exhibition, maeldune centre, mrs salisbury, maldon, high street, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, drawing, paintings, illustration, buildings, architecture, essex, market hill

burnham-on-crouch, essex, wallasea, clocktower, marine, landscape, boats, estuary, architecture, illustration,

sign, sign painting, sign writing, hand painted, illustration, fruit, vegetables, one shot enamel, shop local, burnham on crouch, essex, fresh, sun burst, asparagus, cherries, peas, strawberries, lime, mushroom, pears, advertising, promotion

  • During the first lockdown of 2020 I was absorbed with my “Painted Snapshots of Bermondsey” project. I sent my original artist book to the Brooklyn Art Library and then self published a limited edition of 50 printed copies – all signed and numbered – which I sold to raise money for Southwark Foodbank.

street sign, illustration, brooklyn art library, the sketchbook project, sketchbook, pen and wash, watercolour, watercolor, painting, drawing, urban landscape, urban sketching, corona virus lockdown 2020, bermondsey, london, se1, southwark

pen, watercolour, water color, drawing, painting, illustration, food, map, andalucia, andalusia, annie b, spanish kitchen, vejer, cadiz, jerez, sherry, cerdo iberico, queso de cabra, goats cheese, iberian pork, retinto, beef, tuna, atun, octopus, pulpo, flamenco, squid, calamari, lemon, limon, anchovies, anchoas, prawns, gambas, atlantic ocean, oceano atlantico, mediterranean sea, mar mediterraneo, solera, spices, vineyard, bodega, chorizo, olive oil, acete de oliva

  • Sketching: Weather permitting, I like to sit outside and crack open my old tin of watercolour paints for some loose drawing and splattery colouring. 

burnham art trail, grapnells farm, wallasea island, burnham-on-crouch, burnham art trail, burnham art club, river crouch, essex, wallasea island, boats, landscape, pen and wash, watercolour, painting, urban sketching, nautical scene, illustration

dragonfly, fabric, textile design, home sewing, sustainable fashion, slow fashion, woven monkey, the assembly line elastic tie sweater, dress making

  • Travel Blogging – I recorded my trip around India in words, photos and sketches and posted them in my latest work section. I also drew portraits and painted a few murals while I was in Rajasthan.

jaisalmar, fort, rajasthan, india, workaway, rooftop, wonbin safari hostel, pen and wash, watercolour, watercolor, painting, sketching, sketchbook, travel illustration, travel blog, illustration, landscape, painting, drawing

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

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

  • Portraits: whether ‘analogue’ – charcoal, pencil, watercolour or acrylic paints – or ‘digital’ these make lovely gifts and wedding cards.

wedding, card, portrait, couple, gay, marriage, greetings card, congratulations, rainbow, joint portrait, couple, happy couple, wedding day, celebration, nuptuals, digital, illustration, pencil, drawing, outline, photoshop, layers, highlights, sunglasses

The writer Jackie Cornwall says

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

“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.