Hollyhock Bookmark

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After many years admiring other people’s summer hollyhock displays I finally managed to grow some from seed this year. My Mum loves hollyhocks too, she had collected the seeds from some beautiful plants that were growing out of the concrete at the edge of a car park in town. I think the fact that such delicate but exuberant loveliness can thrive on apparently nothing adds to the wonder of the hollyhock. The name is also a bonus for a Hockey!

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I noticed recently that my Mum’s bookmark had been well used into tattiness so I painted her a new hollyhock bookmark for her birthday.

Water resistant pen, watercolour paint, 300gsm watercolour paper.

Bespoke Birthday Card

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bespoke, birthday card, centenary, 100, birthday, cake, cup cake, candles, nan, godmother, gift, pen and wash, watercolour, painting, drawing

My godmother recently turned 100 – what an achievement! 

So I made a bespoke birthday card for her special birthday.

Mrs Salisbury’s

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mrs salisbury, afternoon tea, cake, sandwiches, tea time, vol-au-vent, cup of tea, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawing

Inspired by the deliciously beautiful photos on the Instagram feed of Mrs Salisbury’s Tea Room and Restaurant I decided to make an illustration. I do love to paint food…

…I also love to eat cake but alas I’ve still not had the chance to sample Mrs Salisbury’s delights – if they’re half as tasty as the look they’ll be well worth the wait. I can’t remember the last time I had a vol-au-vent.mrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, cake, sandwiches, tea time, vol-au-vent, cup of tea, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawing, border, detailThe home of Mrs Salisbury’s is a delightfully pink house on the corner of Bright’s Path and Maldon High Street and the stairs up from their front door are tiled in this lovely black and white pattern, so I wanted to incorporate that into the border design.cake stand, detail, mrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, cake, sandwiches, tea time, vol-au-vent, cup of tea, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawingmrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, cake, sandwiches, tea time, vol-au-vent, cup of tea, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawing, red velvet cake, victoria sponge, chocolate cake, detailmrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, macaron, tea time, cup of tea, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawing, heart cookie, scone, clotted cream mrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, tea time, strawberry, tea pot, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawingmrs salisbury's, afternoon tea, tea time, vol-au-vent, maldon, brights path, restaurant, food illustration, pen and wash, watercolour painting, drawing, cup of tea, sandwiches

Full Moon, Pylon, Winter Sky

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Catching the full moon, as it rises bulbous on a clear night is most uplifting. 

It’s so large when it’s low that I can almost feel the weight of its pull. Being made of mostly water I probably can feel that pull…

This is the view over our neighbours’ garden through the evergreen border bushes, and while the pylon may not be conventionally beautiful there’s drama in the contrast of its strict geometry behind the softer silhouette of the branches.

Winter certainly has its consolations.

Winter Trees 1

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hybrid black poplar, trees, poplar, winter, essex, countryside, silhouette, drawing, sketchbook, landscape, illustration, black and white

It’s easy to make excuses not to sketch: my shoulder hurts, the weather’s too hot, the weather’s too cold, too wet, too windy, it’s winter – I’m uninspired, there’s nothing to see…

Then I started to pay attention to how beautiful the sky can be as the winter sun sets behind skeletal trees. Its position slightly shifting everyday so that eventually it’s setting over the road and visible from my bedroom window, which has a radiator under it.

So with no discomfort excuses I succumbed to the urge to try and capture this lovely view. I drew the trees in water resistant pen at a leisurely pace and left my sketchbook on the windowsill with my brushes, a jar of water and my paint box so that the next time the sunset was dramatic I could quickly paint the watercolour wash over the top.

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I repainted this version so that I could sell the painting without disfiguring my sketchbook and it’s now my plan to redraw the trees in preparation for a new attempt next time there’s drama in the sky. 

Orchid Drawing

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orchid, white orchid, flower, pot plant, drawing, watercolour, watercolor, painting, sketchbook, illustration, artist, illustrator, kathryn hockey

I made this drawing of a beautiful white orchid in my sketchbook with water resistant pen then coloured it with watercolour paints. I was thinking of colouring the background but after a quick poll on Instagram I decided to leave it white for a more graphic and relaxing effect.

Coffee Pot Candle

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A friend asked me to make another of these little coffee pot candle illustrations which I first produced back in 2014. It’s a fun technique: first drawing in charcoal, then painting with acrylic but the crackle glaze proved to be a bit tricky this time and took a few goes to get right. I rubbed white oil paint and beeswax on top of the glaze once I was happy with the cracks and finally a smear of glitter gel for the festive finish.coffee pot, coffee, candle, flame, illustration, drawing, charcoal, painting, acrylic, crackle glaze, craquellure, cracks, glitter

Dress and Mask Combos

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During lockdown I sewed some coordinated dress and mask combos; loose cotton shift dresses to accommodate the inevitable weight gain paired with covid ready face coverings. 

The fabrics are my own designs which I get printed to order in the UK by Woven Monkey.

These combos went down particularly well with shop checkout people, bless them, who were pretty much my only outside contacts. One chap in Waitrose complimented my outfit then looked down at his stripy shirt and said “Oh, I’m going to get a mask made to match it!” I really hope he did…

This certainly made dressing for social distancing a bit more fun. 

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Looking Over to Osea…

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osea island, essex, english countryside, landscape, painting, drawing, watercolour, pen and wash, illustration, river, trees, fields, essex county

This view over the Essex countryside to Osea Island is one of my Dad’s favourites. He collected those stones and placed them around the base of the trees over many, many years during many, many dog walks. So I was delighted to be able to paint it for him as a birthday gift.

I worked from photographs; starting with a pencil drawing which I overlaid with water resistant pen before adding washes of watercolour paint.

2CV Peg Bag

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My parents’ old peg bag has seen better days; the handle was too long and the bag itself too deep so I made them a new one from my 2CV fabric. peg bag, bag, home made, craft, digital printing, pattern, 2CV, fabric, textile design, home sewing, needle work, home made, car, textile, material, surface illustration, illustration

Luckily I had a length of cream canvas tape stashed in my sewing kit which matched the canvas 2CV fabric perfectly, so I used it as a handle and to bind the edge.

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A super quick and simple craft project that’s made hanging the laundry out a little bit more fun.

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