To mark Valentine’s Day I made this pen and watercolour sketch of a tin heart mirror I brought back from Mexico.
May your heart have wings today and everyday….
Valentine’s Sketch
Reply
Author Archives: kathrynhockey
‘El Carnaval’ Group Exhibition
Cádiz Carnaval is one of the best know carnivals in Spain. For two weeks every February the whole city is crazily vibrant with elaborately costumed groups, the most famous of which are the chirigotas, singing satirical and humurous songs they have taken all year to prepare.
Vejer Carnaval is a scaled down version and to celebrate it Arte Vejer are hosting a ‘Carnaval’ themed group art exhibition which opens today in their castle headquarters.
The exhibition space will be open on Saturdays and Sundays 12-2pm from 13th to 28th February 2016.
Click here to see photos of the event.
Carnaval is traditionally an opportunity to indulge in alcohol fueled mass revelry before the more austere Easter celebrations begin.
Masks and cross-dressing are typical so I went with a drag-queen inspired cartoon style character who is wearing a ‘Nuestra Señora‘ virgin inspired headdress (right).
I decided to crack open my new pastel set and experiment with bright colours and blending techniques. I used charcoal for the background and crumbled pastel dust over it to achieve a glittery effect.
All in all quite a messy, dusty process, but fun nevertheless.
Sketch Workshop
Some time ago Arte Vejer invited me to run an art workshop in their castle headquarters.
With no previous teaching experience I wasn’t sure what I could offer, then I remembered all the people who’d told me that they’d like to come out and draw with the Vejer Sketchers but are out of practice or lack confidence or find drawing stressful…or all of the above.
It then occurred to me that as a regular sketcher I do have some tips and tricks to share that could make the whole experience more fun and relaxed.
So having listed my tips and tricks in English and translated them into Spanish I had my workshop plan, and here we are discussing them.
The group then dispersed to sketch whatever caught their imagination and put some of the ideas into practice.
Feedback was very positive and I might very well run another workshop in the not too distant future.
I do truly believe that anyone can draw; it’s a matter of confidence, regular practice and being relaxed enough to shelve your expectations, to revel in the experiments your materials offer and to willingly ‘ruin’ those pristine paper sheets.
Cushion Covers
Here are my most recent home sewing projects: making cushion covers from light cotton canvas fabric that I’d had digitally printed with my illustrations.
This one (left) features a white on black version of my extra large cockerel circle design.
The cushion cover has an ‘envelope’ style closure and measures 38 x 35 cm, comfortably accommodating a 40 x 40 cm cushion.
The two covers on the right feature my Two-Tone 2CV design, measure 50 x 30cm and have a zip closure.
Click here to contact me about prices and availability.
Life Drawing
The Vejer Sketchers met today for the first life drawing session in the new Arte Vejer castle headquarters.
The model we’d booked to sit for us couldn’t get her car started but luckily found us a splendid last minute stand-in and all went well until our half time coffee break in a local bar…
We returned to the castle to find ourselves locked out with all our equipment still inside. It took a fair amount of door thumping and shouting to attract the attention of the key toting tour guide inside.
All in all a very enjoyable if slightly chaotic morning. It was the first outing for my pastels too, I love the intensity of the colours, the granular texture and the smooth way they go on…I’m looking forward to conducting more experiments with them soon…
Lemon and Ginger Sketch
Here’s another juicy pen and watercolour sketch inspired by my search for cold remedies.
Lemon and Ginger, I salute you!
Strawberry Sketch
Strawberry season has started! And we’re not talking plastic packed supermarket type strawberries here…these are full-on super-strawberries that taste like the ones from my childhood ‘Pick Your Own’ days in the 1970s. Delightfully delicious.
Exposición Andante – Mobile Art Exhibition
Click here to see photos and read more about Arte Vejer’s extraordinary mobile art exhibition.
Procession – Sunday 13th December
Static 13th Dec 2015 – 10th Jan 2016 Hotel Convento San Francisco
Orange Sketch
Another juicy pen and watercolour sketch.
I ate the model afterwards…fingers crossed it will cure my sniffles.
Beetroot Sketch
This is my first pen and watercolour sketch of the New Year….slow start…
I’ve been making beetroot juice (turns the teeth and lips a gorgeous colour) and was inspired to commit these beauties to paper.