Author Archives: kathrynhockey

London Sketches

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This summer I spent a few weeks in London which meant that I missed out on my weekly Saturday sketch date with the Vejer sketchers. Despite the busy-ness of my city visit I made a little time to go out with my pens and watercolour paints.

london, london skyline, pen and wash, pen and watercolour, pen and watercolour, sketch

The gorgeous view from my friends’ flat next to Caledonian Park in North London

london, caledonian park, caledonian park clock tower, pen and wash, pen and watercolour, pen and watercolour, sketch

The clock tower in Caledonian Park

highgate cemetery, highgate, london, karl marx, grave, grave stone, pen and wash, pen and watercolour, pen and watercolour, sketch

nunhead cemetery, nunhead, london, angel, grave, grave stone, pen and wash, pen and watercolour, pen and watercolour, sketch

I love a visit to a cemetery; they inspire, calm and ground me all at the same time.

I made my first trips to Highgate (above) and Nunhead (right) cemeteries this summer and found both to be oases of cool, damp, quiet wildness in the hubbub of the hot summer city.

The chaps who were restoring Karl Marx’ grave very kindly moved the scaffolding for a while to improve my view and a lady dog walker told me that her dog once refused to walk past the spot I was painting which raised some goosebumps.

Sketching Vejer

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kathryn hockey, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing

my first outing with the Vejer Sketchers

 

Late last year (2014) I was delighted to be invited to join Arte Vejer, a community organisation which aims to promote visual arts and creativity in and around the Andalusian town of Vejer de la Frontera.

 

Vejer Sketchers is a subsidiary group of Arte Vejer and part of the worldwide Urban Sketchers movement.

 

 

vejer sketchers, vejer de la frontera, urban sketchers, pen, drawing, sketch

Calle Sagasta, Vejer, pen

sketch, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing, pen and coloured pencil, vejer de la frontera, andalusia

Vejer, pen and coloured pencil

 

kathryn hockey, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing

sketching on a roof terrace, Vejer

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sketching enthusiasts, from various walks of life, of different nationalities and ages, meet once a week; usually to draw in the streets of Vejer, sometimes joined by sketchers from other towns,

vejer sketches, concentrarte, vejer de la frontera, urban sketchers

Vejer Sketchers with sketch groups from other towns at Concentrarte, Vejer’s annual art street fair

sketch, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing, pen and water colour, vejer de la frontera, concentrarte vejer

Calles Reyes Cátolicos and Rosario, Vejer, pen and watercolour

sketch, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing, pen and water colour, vejer de la frontera, concurso de patios, patio competition, andalusia

some of the entrants in Vejer’s annual patio competition, pen and watercolour

sketch, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing, pen and water colour, baelo claudia, bolonia, andalusia, roman ruins, poppies, cadiz, ayuntamiento vejer

Ayuntamiento Vejer, Baelo Claudia Bolonia, 47th Sketchcrawl Cadiz, pen and watercolour

 

 

sometimes traveling to join sketch groups in other locations,

kathryn hockey, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing

sketching in the rain in Bolonia

 

 

 

 

 

life drawing with a model,

vejer sketchers, life drawing, charcoal, crayon, sketch

charcoal and crayon

ejer sketchers, life drawing, charcoal, sketch

charcoal

ejer sketchers, life drawing, charcoal, crayon, sketch

charcoal and crayon

or even drawing each other.

vejer sketchers, watercolour sketches, portraits, sketch

watercolour sketches

In this Arte Vejer video, which features stills of some of my pre-Sketchers artwork, I talk (in Spanish) about my New Year’s Resolution to join the Vejer Sketchers, saying that street sketching in a group is brave and interesting and a great contrast to my usual controlled method of drawing and developing images in my studio with photos for reference.

vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing, pen and water colour, vejer de la frontera, chorizo

chorizo, pen and watercolour

Actually, the Vejer Sketchers experience has surpassed all my expectations; the group dynamic is incredibly friendly and supportive and diffuses the potential self-consciousness associated with drawing in public places (safety in numbers!).

sketch, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing, pen and water colour, vejer de la frontera

Vejer, pen and watercolour

I’ve enjoyed painting with watercolours since I was a child and the Vejer Sketchers have inspired me to try new techniques and different formats – my confidence, speed, motivation and skill have all improved.

sketch, vejer sketchers, urban sketchers, drawing, pen and water colour, vejer de la frontera, hibiscus

hibiscus, pen and watercolour

Come and join us if you can!

 

CD Cover: Mr Groovy and the Blue Heads – Somos Más

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mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival

Mr Groovy and the Blue Heads are a band of hugely talented and versatile musicians, one of the best on the Spanish rhythm and blues scene.

As well as revisiting classic blues themes and interpreting the music of more recent artists (such as Lloyd Jones, Los Deltonos and Vaughan Brothers), they play their own compositions, offering a rollicking live show to lovers of the blues in all its variations.

CD cover, Mr Groovy and the Blue Heads, Jauja, pen and guache, digital manipulation, illustration, voodoo, Cadiz, blues band, pin up

 

Back in 2012 Mr Groovy and the Blue Heads commissioned me to design the cover for their excellent third album ‘Jauja‘, so I was flattered to be asked to do the same for their latest release ‘Somos Más’ which celebrates their 10th birthday.

mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, text, title, blues album

mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festivalMr Groovy and the Blue Heads are almost constantly on the road, which is what inspired me to suggest a tour bus for the CD cover. There are now several more ‘Blue Heads’ amongst their number, mostly woodwind and brass players, which is why they chose the title ‘Somos Más’ (meaning ‘there are more of us’). It’s also a nod to the growing number of people who are disillusioned by a corrupt political system which creates and perpetuates austerity.

 

The rough sketch above helped me to decide on the layout for the front cover which I then redrew carefully in pencil onto fine grained watercolour paper, followed by water resistant pen (below).

The landscape depicted in the background is typically Andalusian, it’s inspired by the view from my studio.

mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival

I used pencils to colour in a photocopy of the finished pen drawing as a trial and then applied colour to the actual drawing with watercolour paints. It’s a traditional and time consuming method but I love the warmth that hand painted textures impart to an image.

mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival

 

mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival

 

 

I scanned the finished painting into Photoshop where I added the text, taking the same hand drawn text style for the band name that I had made for the Jauja cover. I also replaced the white border with a black one (below).  mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival

And then on to the back cover…which had to be the back of the bus!

mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival

 

 

The scene in the background is inspired by the bamboo fringed sand dunes of the Atlantic coast where we live, dotted with bright flowering succulents in the spring.

 

 

I worked from my rough sketch (above) in the same way as I had for the front cover, just changing the layout to make space for the track list.

mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival

That’s Mr Groovy playing his harmonica in the back of the bus (below)

mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival

Having scanned the painting into Photoshop I added the text and digitally collaged the CD covers from the band’s three previous albums and the sea and sky which I had painted separately.

mr groovy and the blue heads, somos mas, cd cover, sketch, blues band, mister groovy, pen and water colour, pen and watercolor, watercolor paint, watercolour paint, illustration, drawing, tour bus, andalusia, blues festival

Mr Groovy and the Blue Heads are working non-stop for the imminent release of Somos Más which promises to be a superb mix of swing, funk, blues and second line.

Don’t miss it!

Stickers!

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moo, stickers, illustration, digital printing, cake, cockerel, rooster, angry woman, portrait

Moo.com had a sale on so I couldn’t resist ordering a set of stickers emblazoned with my ‘circle-friendliest’ designs.

moo, stickers, illustration, digital printing, cake, cockerel, rooster, angry woman, portrait

Yay! As they say in the world of Moo…stick ’em up!

Cockerel Cushions for La Casa del Arco

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rooster, cockerel, cock, fabric, cockerel fabric, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, cushions, handmade These cushions are my latest cockerel fabric creations, made with love for Blanca and Alain, my dear friends and neighbours at La Casa del Arco in Vejer de la Frontera

rooster, cockerel, cock, fabric, cockerel fabric, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, cushions, handmade

Click here to see a photo of the cushions in their new home

Cockerel Skirt

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cockerel, fabric, surface illustration, digital collage

 This fabric design evolved from a stencil project I started in 2012,

cockerel, rooster, cock, stencil, acrylic paint, reclaimed wood

since when Mr Cockerel has adorned numerous hard and soft surfaces.

Last year I spent many happy hours in the Photoshop turning the original image (above) into several repeating patterns (below)

rooster, cockerel, pattern, illustration,rooster, cockerel, cock, surface illustration, pattern, repeat, fabric design

rooster, cockerel, cock, surface illustration, pattern, repeat, fabric design

rooster, cockerel, cock, surface illustration, pattern, repeat, fabric design

 the last of which got made into a baby cushion in light cotton canvas.

cockerels, roosters, cocks, cockerel fabric, pattern, textile design, baby, cushion, surface illustration

I’ve been really keen to make myself an item of cockerel clothing ever since, so I ordered custom printed fabric samples in several cottons until I was totally happy with the size and colour of the design, and then got cracking with sewing an A-line skirt.

rooster, cockerel, cock, fabric, cockerel fabric, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, dress making, a line skirt, handmade clothes

rooster, cockerel, cock, fabric, cockerel fabric, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, dress making, a line skirt, handmade clothes

rooster, cockerel, cock, fabric, cockerel fabric, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, dress making, a line skirt, handmade clothes

rooster, cockerel, cock, fabric, cockerel fabric, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, dress making, a line skirt, handmade clothes

rooster, cockerel, cock, fabric, cockerel fabric, textile design, surface illustration, digital collage, sewing, dress making, a line skirt, handmade clothes

 It’s had a very enthusiastic reception and I’m cock-a-hoop!

Chicken Bus

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chicken bus, illustration, pencil, drawing, digital illustration, feliz, baila, cuando, donde, ahora

I was inspired to try and capture the humour and vibrancy of these beautiful and ubiquitous buses when I was in Guatemala in the autumn of 2014.

The buses are imported from the US or Canada once they retire from the school run and are then dolled up and converted, usually by a team of two people, who run them as public transport on specific routes, crammed to the gills with paying passengers, luggage and even livestock, hence the name Chicken Bus.

chicken bus, san pedro la laguna, guatemala

I used this photo which I took in San Pedro on the shore of Lake Atitlan as my model

chicken bus, sketch, pencil

I made this rather wonky sketch from the photo and scanned it into Photoshop

chicken bus, pencil drawing

I copied the fat side of the wonky sketch, flipping it over to make a symmetrical template

chicken bus, pencil drawing

 and then set about making a careful pencil drawing

chicken bus, pencil drawing

I scanned the finished drawing

chicken bus, digital colouring

and coloured it in Photoshop layers; at this stage the image looked a bit plain and flat

chicken bus, pencil drawing

so I added more detail to the pencil drawing, scanned it into Photoshop

vuela, chicken bus, illustration

and applied the cut out line work over the coloured bus.

I had a lot of fun making 15 different coloured versions of the bus before I’d decided what to write in the destination boxes. In the end I added various invitations and questions (afterall, you can change your destination if you dance or dream) in Spanish before grouping them into three sets of five buses to make simple poems.

The background is scanned paper.

chicken bus, illustration, pencil, drawing, digital illustration, listo, tranqui, paz, gracia, amor

¿Listo? ¡Tranqui! ¿Paz? ¡Gracia! ¡Amor!

(Ready? Calm down! Peace? Grace! Love!)

chicken bus, illustration, pencil, drawing, digital illustration, venga, guapa, suena, vamos, vuela

¡Venga! ¡Guapa! ¡Sueña! ¡Vamos! ¡Vuela!

(Come on! Beautiful! Dream! Let´s go! Fly!)

chicken bus, illustration, pencil, drawing, digital illustration, feliz, baila, cuando, donde, ahora

¿Feliz? ¡Baila! ¿Cuando? ¿Donde? ¿Ahora?

(Happy? Dance! When? Where? Now?)

peace, bullet holes, chicken bus, illustration

A friend I´d met on my travels asked where the bullet holes were since Guatemala has a somewhat deserved reputation as a trouble spot, so I added a few to the Peace? bus.

chicken bus, illustration, pencil, drawing, digital illustration, venga, guapa, sonar, vamos, vuela, print, laser print

 

And I’ve just picked up the first paper versions from my printer…lovely colours, thank you Pepe.

Book Covers for The Icarus Mendoza Sequence

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

Last summer Jackie Cornwall commissioned me to design the cover for her latest novel ‘The Three Witches‘. It’s the first in a series of six books that will make up ‘The Icarus Mendoza Sequence’, a thrilling adventure story spanning three decades of the life of the gifted and troubled Icarus Mendoza.

Jackie told me the outline of the entire sequence, emphazising the themes for each book and the colours she associated with them.

The backdrop to all the books would be the fictional town of San Amaro de la Frontera, which Jackie based on Vejer de la Frontera the beautiful Andalusian pueblo blanco (white village) where we live.

Almost immediately it struck me that the six book covers could feature a continuous townscape, representing constancy and refuge, and that the section of townscape depicted on the front cover of the first book could appear on the back cover of the second book and so on for the entire sequence to make an interlocking set.

A symbol representing the specific adventure theme for each book could then be superimposed over the townscape.

icarus mendoza, sequence, book cover, rough, illustration, sketch

The first preparatory sketch for the six book covers; the vertical symbols looked a bit stiff

icarus mendoza, sequence, book cover, rough, illustration, sketch

I sketched the symbols ‘looming’ to liven up the composition and give them a threatening feeling.

preparatory sketch, vejer de la frontera, townscapeWorking from photos I’d taken of Vejer I sketched a montage of views.

icarus-mendoza-sequence, townscape, charcoal, drawing

I decided to experiment by drawing the townscape in charcoal so that I had a ‘negative’ image

icarus-mendoza-sequence, townscape

that I could scan into Photoshop, splicing all the sections together and inverting it to make it white. I also removed the background

This turned out to be very labour intensive, I had to draw, scan, invert and splice two extra sections of town before I had an image long enough to cover the estimated length of all six covers.

I wanted to create richly coloured backgrounds with interesting textures so I opted for watercolour paint, using the wet on wet technique on heavy weight paper with a rough grain, referring to the notes I’d made on Jackie’s colour preferences for each book.

watercolour paint, wet on wet

The ultramarine watercolour background for ‘The Three Witches’ cover

At this point Jackie clarified which symbols she thought were apt for each book and offered suggestions to replace those which weren’t.

Eiffel Tower, pencil drawing

I drew each symbol in pencil and scanned it into Photoshop.

Eiffel Tower, blue

Then I cut out the line work and coloured it to match the background

Finally I added the text.

Here are the finished covers:

The Three Witches, book cover, illustration, the icarus mendoza sequence

The Peacock Dance, book cover, illustration, the icarus mendoza sequence

The Brazilian Prince, book cover, illustration, the icarus mendoza sequence

The Tartessian Stone, book cover, illustration, the icarus mendoza sequence

the five winds, book cover, illustration, the icarus mendoza sequence

book cover, illustration, the icarus mendoza sequence

And here’s the interlocking set of six again, you can click on it to make it larger.

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

The Three Witches is a ripping yarn; my favourite quote is

“Dance, like romance, is one of those sweet, cruel mechanisms by which little girls are enticed into a life of slavery.”

It’s available to purchase now on Amazon.

Sam

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I made this portrait of my parents’ dog Sam as a surprise Christmas present and luckily they were delighted.dog, pet portrait, pen drawing, watercolour paint, pen and washI worked from a photograph I took while we were out for a walk a few months ago, first I made a pencil drawing which I worked over in water resistant pen, then I applied several washes of watercolour paint.