The Old Burrow



The Old Burrow





Illustrations from the threshold


OF TALE & THICKET



Welcome to
The Old Burrow
a place of quiet magic & timeless illustration



Creating paintings and worlds for books, commissions, and collectors.




Home of freelance artist and illustrator Catkin van Hoppe, where each painting is a doorway into The Old Burrow's world. Rooted in the magic of fairy tale landscapes and brushed with the warmth of a bygone age, these works are quiet places for the heart - where stories gather like moths to lamplight, and wonder still lingers in the air.





At a glance



Hedge between the worlds



Book



Work with Me



Whats New


The Imagination as Sanctuary



Here at The Old Burrow, it is easier to sense the quiet underneath all things. I find the imagination loves that still space, where stories can take root and meaning begins to unfold. It is a gentle place, images and ideas arrive like birds to an open palm: tentative, delicate and full of unexpected truths.


Story and image, when shaped with care, can become a kind of sanctuary- not an escape from the world, but a deeper way of being within it. And something else happens too: the imagination, has a way of returning us to the world with clearer eyes. A flower seems more luminous. Birds over head become fireworks of joy. The whole world shimmers with a magic we had forgotten how to see.



LETTERS FROM THE ARTIST'S TABLE AT THE OLD BURROW





Notes from Wild &


Gentle Reams



From here, just now and then,


I write -






The Coat of The Midwinter Child



The beginning of a new piece arrives as a sketch - soft footed and playful, like the imagination itself slipping quietly into The Old Burrow. It's is one of the most precious moments for me. I don't usually begin with a fixed idea. Sometimes there may be a flicker, or a sense of something but more often than not I am silently witnessing the pencil draw before me -a quiet joining of hand and the imaginal realm.


There is a joy in this early stillness that is hard to name. It's soft and spacious, curious and light-filled, and though it passes through gently, like a breeze, it's something I treasure more than I can ever quite say.





What began as a simple idea for this year's Christmas card has quietly grown into the early stirrings of a picture book. Though the tale of The Coat of The Midwinter Child is still taking shape, I'd love to share some glimpses of the first painting as it unfolds. I will tell you more about the story another time...




Contact



The Old Burrow



THANK YOU FOR VISITING





Commissions open for June to Dec 2025, please feel free to email me with any queries






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