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

fine art print, print, gift idea, art, art for sale, buy art, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, art, maldon, high street, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, drawing, paintings, illustration, buildings, architecture, essex, facade, brights solicitor, pocknells, old police staion, ansells, butcher, beehive, hairdresser, maldon high street series, part 1

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.

looking up, maldon, maldon high street, about the exhibition, maeldune heritage centre, market hill, colouring in, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, watercolor, paintings, architecture, buildings

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.

looking up, exhibition, maeldune centre, maldon, high street, pen and wash, buildings, architecture, colouring in, community project, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, mayor, share memories, art for sale, visit maldon, essex

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.

looking up, exhibition, maeldune centre, maldon, high street, pen, black and white, buildings, architecture, colouring in, community project, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, share memories, art for sale, visit maldon, essex

looking up, exhibition, maeldune centre, maldon, high street, pen and wash, buildings, architecture, colouring in, community project, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, mayor, share memories, art for sale, visit maldon, essex

looking up, exhibition, maeldune centre, maldon, high street, pen and wash, buildings, architecture, colouring in, community project, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, mayor, share memories, art for sale, visit maldon, essex

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

looking up, exhibition, maeldune centre, maldon, high street, pen and wash, buildings, architecture, colouring in, community project, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, mayor, share memories, art for sale, visit maldon, essex

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. 

historian, stephen nunn, looking up, exhibition, maeldune centre, maldon, high street, pen and wash, buildings, architecture, colouring in, community project, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, mayor, share memories, art for sale, visit maldon, essex

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:

reviews, looking up, maldon, maldon high street, about the exhibition, maeldune heritage centre, market hill, colouring in, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, watercolor, paintings, architecture, buildings

looking up, maldon, maldon high street, about the exhibition, maeldune heritage centre, market hill, colouring in, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, watercolor, paintings, architecture, buildings, commissions, illustration, kathryn hockey

flyer, maeldune heritage centre, art, exhibition. art show, art for sale, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, art, exhibition, maeldune centre, mrs salisbury, maldon, high street, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, drawing, paintings, illustration, buildings, architecture, essex, market hill, mrs salisburys, facade

fine art print, print, gift idea, art, art for sale, buy art, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, art, maldon, high street, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, drawing, paintings, illustration, buildings, architecture, essex, facade, coach lane, maldon lettings, cafe brazil, finalekathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, art, exhibition, maeldune centre, maldon, high street, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, drawing, paintings, illustration, buildings, architecture, essex, art for sale, all saints church, temme english, maldon book shop, oak house, blue boar, fine art prints

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 lifestyle

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, watercolour

architecture, art, art for sale, artist, bluebell, buildings, butcher, buy art, drawing, essex, facade, fine art print, gift idea, high street, illustration, illustrator, kathryn hockey, maldon, maldon barbers, paintings, pen, pen and wash, pipes insurance, print, silo, the emporium, watercolour, wenlocks

architecture, art, art for sale, artist, buildings, buy art, crusty loaf, drawing, essex, facade, fine art print, gift idea, high street, illustration, illustrator, kathryn hockey, maldon, mitchells jewellery, paintings, pen, pen and wash, print, pub, rose and crown, salon central, watercolour, wetherspoons

Pen and Wash Portraits of Maldon High Street

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. 

fine art print, print, gift idea, art, art for sale, buy art, kathryn hockey, artist, illustrator, art, maldon, high street, pen and wash, pen, watercolour, drawing, paintings, illustration, buildings, architecture, essex, facade, coach lane, maldon lettings, cafe brazil, finale

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. 

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, all saints church, temme english, maldon book shop, oak house, blue boar, fine art prints

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

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

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?

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, watercolour

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!

architecture, art, art for sale, artist, bluebell, buildings, butcher, buy art, drawing, essex, facade, fine art print, gift idea, high street, illustration, illustrator, kathryn hockey, maldon, maldon barbers, paintings, pen, pen and wash, pipes insurance, print, silo, the emporium, watercolour, wenlocks

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.

architecture, art, art for sale, artist, buildings, buy art, crusty loaf, drawing, essex, facade, fine art print, gift idea, high street, illustration, illustrator, kathryn hockey, maldon, mitchells jewellery, paintings, pen, pen and wash, print, pub, rose and crown, salon central, watercolour, wetherspoons

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.