Author Archives: kathrynhockey

The Black Dawg – an illustrated poem about Depression and Hope

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About a year ago my friend Louis McIntosh sent me a poem he’d written about depression and hope called ‘The Black Dawg‘.

The poem really resonated with me and I immediately agreed to Louis’ suggestion that I illustrate it with a view to publishing the finished project as a picture book.

Louis and I have now reached the stage where we’re ready to do some combined market research and promotion prior to making the project ready to print and raising funds for self-publishing on Kickstarter.

To that end we made a promotional pack comprising three double sided flyers featuring excerpts of the text and illustrations.

We targeted interested parties such as mental health charities and people with first and second hand experience of depression and compiled a mailing list of those people who said they were happy to provide feedback. We’ve just sent each person (via snail mail) a promotional pack to share with their friends, family and colleagues.

mental health, the black dawg, illustrated poem, depression, hope, louis mcintosh, poet, illustration, digital collage, promotional pack, kickstarter

The table laden with promotional flyers, stickers and envelopes ready to send

the black dawg, illustrated poem, depression, hope, louis mcintosh, poet, illustration, digital collage, promotional pack, kickstarter,

The introductory flyer (above) features the proposed book cover on one side and has an introduction to The Black Dawg poem and promo pack on the other.

(click on the images to enlarge them)

The second flyer (below) features the first double page on one side, I introduce myself on the reverse and talk about my motivation and inspiration for illustrating The Black Dawg.

the black dawg, illustrated poem, depression, hope, louis mcintosh, poet, illustration, digital collage, promotional pack, kickstarter,

Third flyer (below) features the penultimate double pages on one side; on the reverse Louis talks about his motivation and inspiration for writing The Black Dawg.

mental health, the black dawg, illustrated poem, depression, hope, louis mcintosh, poet, illustration, digital collage, promotional pack, kickstarter,

A big thank you to all those people who agreed to be on the mailing list, we really appreciate your support and are really looking forward to receiving your feedback.

The feedback we have received so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

If you’re not on the mailing list but would still like to send us feedback – please do! We’ll be delighted to hear from you… email us at kathryn.hockey.art@gmail.com or leave a reply below.

And please feel free to share with as many people as you’d like!

Bike in Barbate

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ocean, atlantic, beach, bike, bicycle, playa, andalucia,barbate, watercolour, watercolor, sketch, drawing

 

I had half an hour to spare before my lunch date with a friend today in Barbate so I painted this quick sketch of a bicycle looking out to sea….my friend didn’t show up (she’d had a diary malfunction) but I still had a delicious lunch of shrimp cakes and octopus.

Thank you Casa Oscar.

Cockerels on Canvas

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Two of my latest batch of digital fabric prints…our old friend the cockerel in two sizes

illustration, rooster, cockerel, cock, fabric, cockerel fabric, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, dress making, cushion fabric

illustration, rooster, cockerel, cock, fabric, cockerel fabric, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, dress making, cushion fabric illustration, rooster, cockerel, cock, fabric, cockerel fabric, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, dress making, cushion fabric

Beach Walk Sketches

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I don’t usually remember to pack my sketch book and paints when I head out for a stroll along the beach in El Palmar but there was something in the gentle sunshine this Monday afternoon that reminded me…cows, vacas, el palmar, andalucia, vejer de la frontera,, watercolour, watercolor, sketch, drawing

I didn’t quite manage to capture the beauty of these Retinto cows in my pen and wash sketch above…

beach, sand dunes, playa, el palmar, andalucia, vejer de la frontera,, watercolour, watercolor, sketch, drawing

…but there’s a softness that I like in this deserted beach scene painted with sea water

Sushi Time

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sketch, pen and watercolour, pen and watercolor, sushi, wasabi, ginger, sushi time, maki, nigiri, tuna, salmon, langoustine, soy sauce, seaweed, chop sticks

 

With no Vejer Sketchers outing planned for today, I promised myself a lunch of takeaway sushi on the condition that I made a pen and watercolour sketch of it before eating…this has to be a perfect definition for delayed gratification and certainly helped to whet my appetite and really appreciate the artistry of our local chef at Sushi Time.

Yum.

Cockerels for Terry

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cockerel, mural, stencil, rooster, acrylic paint

Having recently refurbished the chimney pipes for his wood burner in preparation for winter, Terry asked me if I’d paint some cockerels for him in the alcove behind the stove.

cockerel, mural, stencil, rooster, acrylic paint

Stenciling in there was a bit of a tight squeeze but they turned out rather well.

cockerel, mural, stencil, rooster, acrylic paint

…roast chicken all winter!

Click here to see photos of my cockerels stenciled in other locations in my Signs and Murals gallery

Rainy Day Sketches

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andalucia, Vejer de la Frontera, pen and wash, pen and watercolour, pen and watercolor, sketch, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing,

With the onset of showery weather it’s tempting to skip the weekly sketch meetings but these last two Saturdays I’ve been determined to persevere. For sure the white walls of Vejer don’t glow without sunshine but the brooding clouds lend a different atmosphere.

andalucia, Vejer de la Frontera, pen and wash, pen and watercolour, pen and watercolor, sketch, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing, iglesia divino salvador

 

 

Above, the old town of Vejer from a roof terrace in the new town.

Left, the church bell tower from my roof terrace in the old town.

Both pen and watercolour.

Hooray for roofs and brollies!

Pretty Creepy Horsey for Hallowe’en

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skeleton, horse, halloween, day of the dead, roundabout, repeat pattern, illustration, surface design, This piece was inspired by the beautiful carved wooden horses of the Jubilee Gallopers carousel at Carter’s Steamfair.

horse, carousel, fair ground, roundabout, pencil drawing

I started off with a conventional pencil drawing, working from photos I had taken while visiting the fair in the summer.

horse, carousel, fair ground, roundabout, pencil drawing, digital colour, illustration

Having scanned the drawing into Photoshop I coloured it. Nice but boring, I thought…and that stripy saddle looks a bit like a rib cage…

skeleton, day of the dead, halloween, horse, carousel, fair ground, roundabout, pencil drawing

…so I kept drawing and developed the skeletal theme which I found much more interesting

skeleton, horse, halloween, day of the dead, roundabout, repeat pattern, illustration, surface design,

I scanned the new pencil drawing into my computer, vectorised it in Illustrator, then coloured and duplicated it to make a repeating pattern in Photoshop. I also added noise to the image to improve the texture.

I like the way that it’s not until you look closely that you see the dark creepiness of this image.

I’m eagerly awaiting delivery of a sample of digitally printed fabric in this design….it’s been dispatched today….dead horse cushions, anyone?!

Silk Scarves

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2cv, dragonfly, silk scarf, fabric, silk, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, dress making, handmade

I recently sewed these two scarves featuring my dragonfly and 2CV designs digitally printed on super soft silk. What luxury….

Autumn Sketches

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grape harvest, andalucia, sherry, jerez, bodegas faustino gonzalez, pen and wash, pen and watercolour, pen and watercolour, sketch

 

 

The pen and watercolour sketch to the left was my first of the autumn season, having been invited to see the sherry grape harvest in the the Faustino González vineyard just outside Jerez.

The grape pickers moved too fast for me to capture with my painting hands!

bodeguita, andalucia, vejer de la frontera, arco de la segur, pen and wash, pen and watercolour, pen and watercolour, sketch

 

 

 

The sketch on the right is of one of the old town gates in Vejer de la Frontera, you can see one of my fellow sketchers on the left.

 

 

roman aquaduct,santa lucia, andalucia, vejer de la frontera, arco de la segur, pen and wash, pen and watercolour, pen and watercolour, sketch

 

 

The last sketch in this trio is of the Roman aquaduct in the beautiful village of Santa Lucia.