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Pen and Wash Demonstration for Burnham Art Club

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I chose this beautiful white weatherboard house as the subject of my recent pen and wash demonstration for Burnham Art Club.

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My painter’s eye was drawn by the symmetry, bold outlines and interesting shapes…and also by the weatherboard bin store!

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Many thanks for the invitation to share my tips and techniques, and for such a kind and attentive reception from all the lovely art club members who came along.

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It was my first demo so I was a bit nervous beforehand, but once I got going I really enjoyed it.

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Swan Hotel Custom Print

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This Swan Hotel custom print was an 80th birthday gift for an ex-landlord of the iconic Maldon establishment from his family.

I may have mentioned before that Marc Bolan, David Bowie (Jones at the time) and Joe Cocker all played gigs in the back room in the 60s!

architecture, art, art for sale, artist, buildings, buy art, drawing, essex, facade, fine art print, gift idea, high street, illustration, illustrator, kathryn hockey, maldon, paintings, paparazzi, pen, pen and wash, print, swan hotel, watercolourI “extracted” the Swan Hotel from part 6 (above) of my Maldon High Street series.

A3 prints of my Maldon High Street series parts 1-8 and any of the individual buildings included in those paintings are now available to order. Please drop me a line.

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Burnham Art Club Exhibition 2023

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Very pleased to take my place amongst the startlingly impressive and varied output of the excellent Burnham Art Club members who always show their collective work at the end of August to coincide with Burnham week. Lovely to meet visitors and fellow artists and to make some sales and purchases!

“Looking Up” – Pen and Wash Portraits of Maldon High Street

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I was delighted to show my pen and wash portraits of beautiful Maldon High Street in the Maeldune Centre, at the top of Market Hill, Maldon, from 17th August to 2nd September 2023.

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Here I am on the launch night, sitting in front of the half size fine art prints I had made of the original paintings. Click here to find out more about the prints and buy them.

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The exhibition had a tremendously generous reception from Maeldune Centre visitors and volunteers alike. By far the star of the show was the black and white print I had made for the table tops in the centre of the gallery. People had great fun colouring it in and writing on it; the comments and shared memories of Maldon High Street were really touching. As the exhibition drew to a close the Maldon Society photographed it for their archive – I was truly honoured.

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Maldon’s mayor, Andrew Lay, and young Blake hone their colouring skills at the launch party.

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Maldon historian Stephen Nunn visited a couple of times and I was able to add some fascinating facts about the High Street to the interactive artwork as he dictated. Here he is with my dad, Ron, who was also very enthusiastic and generous with his High Street memories. 

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Click this link to see a video of the interactive artwork and learn some fun and fascinating facts!

The Maldon Society is in the process of adding photos of the interactive piece and digital versions of the original paintings to their archive. I am truly an honour.

Here’s what Stephen said about the exhibition along with some other reviews:

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Pen and Wash Portraits of Maldon High Street

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I was born in Maldon (as was my dad), and I lived there until I was 18 so I feel a very strong bond with the place despite having lived away for 30 plus years.

 I decided to paint some of Maldon’s most beautiful buildings. 

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While I was taking reference photos I got the urge to paint all the façades from the old police station in West Square down to the Rose & Crown on the corner of Butt Lane. 

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Part of the loveliness of buildings comes from their relationship to their neighbours; that’s something we could also say about ourselves.

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That stretch of High Street was too long to fit onto one piece of paper so I divided it into eight sections and started making rough sketches. Then I challenged myself to finish all the paintings in a year and exhibit them at the Maeldune Heritage Centre, which is one of the buildings included in the series.

kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, art, exhibition, maeldune centre, maldon, high street, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, drawing, paintings, illustration, buildings, architecture, essex, art for sale, moot hall, fine art prints, maeldune heritage centre, exhibition, mrs salisburys, coles, timpsons, kate lifestyleThe exhibition is called “Looking Up” because it occured to me, while I was taking the reference photos, how rarely I take the time to stop, stand still for a while, look up and really appreciate my surroundings. Perhaps you’re the same?

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And since I’ve painted these buildings I’ve notice that they’ve become more vibrant to me. I mean that when I walk or drive past them now, they seem brighter and more alive. It’s as if by getting to know all the little details of their faces I’ve made friends with them!

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The exhibition ran from 17th August to the 5th September 2023. Many people dropped in to see the paintings and the low tech interactive element – they did some colouring in and shared their High Street memories on the large black and white print in the centre of the gallery.

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Please contact me if you’d like to purchase or exhibit any of my original Maldon High Street paintings.

Fine Art Prints

I’ve had some beautiful fine art prints made which capture the essence of the original paintings at half their size. Please click here to contact me if you’d like to buy prints.

The ink is lightfast, so it won’t deteriorate over time and the museum quality paper is Hahnemuhle William Turner 310gsm, which has a texture and weight similar to the watercolour paper on which I painted the originals.

Exhibition

Read about my summer exhibition at the Maeldune Heritage Centre here.

Orchid Drawing

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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.

Artwork in India (3) – Pushkar

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Pushkar has been wonderful; a strange and delightful mix of the spiritual and the decadent with a bit of filth and hassle thrown in for good measure.

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Don’t touch the flowers that are offered down by the ghats (sacred lakeside bathing areas)- you’ll get dragged into a lakeside blessing ceremony  and charged well for the honour.

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I sat in the doorway with some kind young musicians while I sketched this little market stall. They insisted that I showed the greengrocer the painting afterwards. He loved it.

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Unknowingly I arrived in Pushkar during the most sacred week of the Hindu calendar, which coincided with the famous camel fair.

The streets were full of pilgrims from all over India and beyond. I met an Argentinian Hindu who was staying at the same hotel and he explained a bit about the bathing rituals and took me to a couple of temples.

Photography is strictly prohibited at the lakeside so I thought I’d sketch the scene instead.

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The photography ban didn’t stop me being asked to pose for a couple of pictures!

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In Udaipur I met a lovely young camel expert from New Zealand who spoke so passionately about the camel fair that I decided to visit. When I arrived in Pushkar I met up with her again and spent a very interesting hour or so meeting the camels. They’re surprisingly sweet and dignified.

Inspired, I drew the camel above, the circle is a design based on the ornaments the camels are dressed with.

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I then painted this version on the hotel wall before I left.

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The annual moustache competition was a hilarious highlight of the camel fair – Rajasthanis are certainly blessed in the hair department!  

Arte Vejer on the Move

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Arte Vejer has certainly had a busy few weeks. The community group which promotes visual arts and creativity in the Vejer de la Frontera region has really been going for it as you’ll see and read below!

 

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What is a mobile art exhibition? You might well ask…I had no idea before taking part on Sunday 13th December.

It turned out to be as dynamic, colourful and festive a procession through the streets of Vejer as the poster promised.

 

 

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Sol Muniain (right), a truly gifted artist and the inventor and driving force behind the Arte Vejer mobile art exhibition unlocks the door to the castle for a session of painting faces Picasso style prior to the procession.

 

 

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Sol paints the face of Ismael Virués, another dedicated Arte Vejer organiser and the banner bearing leader of the art parade.

 

 

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Having picked up the art works we were joined by a band of marching drummers and set off around town.

I was wearing a couple of my artworks as well as carrying one (right, centre); my cockerel skirt and my 2CV silk scarf

 

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The drive and energy exuded by the marching drummers was amazing, especially when the parade passed through the narrowest alleyways and the rhythm really bounced off the walls.

 

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It was also quite surreal to look back and see a view of Vejer within a view of Vejer.

 

 

 

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We made several stops en route, here we are in the Plaza de España for a photo opportunity…..

 

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…and enjoying being part of the back drop near the Arco de Segur within the old town walls for this, the first of several short flamenco dance ‘tablaos’ …

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…more flamenco dancing on La Corredera….

 

 

 

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….dancing to an African style drum troupe in La Plaza de San Francisco…

 

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…and returning to La Plazuela with tired and happy arms (and no, despite the crazed expression, I did not get arrested)….

 

 

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…before replacing the artworks on the walls of the Hotel Convento San Francisco where they will rest, for sale, until January 10th 2016.

 

I was delighted to have my artwork accepted for the mobile exhibition and feel priviledged to have taken part in such an extraordinary event. Many thanks again to Arte Vejer for the huge amount of work and good will which went into coordinating all the art forms so beautifully and happily.

Click here to see yet more photos of the event on facebook, thanks to Jackie Cornwall.

And there’s even more:

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On the 29th November Arte Vejer staged the first ever painting competition for young artists in Vejer.

I was honoured to be invited to join the judging panel and was really impressed by the high standard of the artworks produced.

 

 

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About 30 participants signed up to the competition in Vejer’s beautiful Plaza de España and then dispersed to various parts of the charming old town to work on their paintings and drawings for several hours.

 

 

Click here to see photos of the event and the impressive range of artworks; the overall winner has her painting included in the (previously mobile) Arte Vejer exhibition in the Hotel Convento San Francisco and the other prize winning works are currently displayed in La Bodeguita, a local bar.

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The 6th December was pueblo abierto (open village) day for Vejer, which coincided with the ruta de tapas. Arte Vejer celebrated its recent allocation of a room in the castle by the town council by mounting an exhibition of members’ work there and including the non-prize winning works from the young artist painting competition.

 

 

 

water colour, sketch, pen and watercolour, vejer sketcher, castle, patio, andaluciaI made this pen and watercolour sketch (right) of the castle patio while sitting on the doorstep of Arte Vejer’s room and then went up to the ramparts to make an abstract watercolour sketch (below) inspired by the lichen which adorns many roofs and walls in the old town.

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As well as an exhibition space the castle room will be used as a venue for creative workshops. I’m planning to host one early in 2016 for adult sketchers who are a bit rusty and lack the confidence to come and draw with the Vejer Sketchers group.

If that’s you, please get in touch!

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