‘It started with Henderson’s’ - Meet the Sheffield artist that’s producing nostalgic Steel City designs
Matt Cockayne has been producing Sheffield-themed art for well over a decade
Sheffield-based artist Matt Cockayne says he is looking forward to producing more local artwork in the coming months after making the difficult decision to close his shop in Hasland, Chesterfield.
Matt, who hails from Halfway, near Mosborough, has produced more than 1,000 pieces of art in his career, including the official artwork for the Snooker World Championship at the Crucible.
He’s also helped bring to life two of the 150 life-sized lions currently based in Sheffield as part of the Pride of Yorkshire sculpture trail, which he has named after his grandparents Dennis and Florence.
He told The Star: “It’s been an amazing journey. I have been passionate about art all my life and have always admired the work of Pete McKee and particularly Joe Scarbrough.
“I first started selling my work around 13 years ago. I worked myself up through the print and design industry and it all took off from there.”
Matt has a passion for producing art that’s themed around his hometown. But he credits one local condiment in particular for getting him started.
“One of the first successful pieces I can remember making was Captain Henderson. I made it for my house after a breakup as I didn’t have enough money to buy my own art for the house.
“I can remember sending it to Henderson’s after and they endorsed it. From there the whole thing grew and I started to produce even more work.”
Matt claims that over the course of his career he’s made around 1,500 pieces of artwork. Some of his favourite work is football-themed for Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday supporters while his work for the Snooker World Championship where he got a special Henderson’s themed bottle signed by the players also ranks highly.
Born in 1984, Matt adds that he likes to base a lot of work around his memories of growing up in the 1990s.
He added: “I like drawing things that remind me of when I was growing up. I have made artwork of lots of old nightclubs like Republic as some of my favourite memories were there.”
Matt has had a store in Chesterfield for the last three years but has decided to shut shop on September 30 to work from a purpose-built studio in his garden.
He explains: “I have decided to close it due to an accident that I had a few years back which still affects me. I fell off my electric scooter onto some black ice and it left me in a wheelchair for a few months.
“I’m still suffering from post traumatic arthritis in my ankle. It's been life changing. Working from home will make things easier for me as I’ll be able to focus on my gymwork, recovery and physio.”
Matt adds that there are some positives that come with closing the shop. And one of those is the fact that he can once again focus on producing Sheffield-themed artwork.
“With my shop being in Chesterfield - I have had to mainly focus on Peak District themed things,” he said.
“But when I’m back home I can do more local themed artwork from Sheffield - I’m looking to produce a collection before Christmas.”
Matt’s football themed artwork can be purchased via his website at kickoffstore. While all of his other work can also be purchased online through his website Matt Cockyane Illustrations.
He adds: “I've had a pretty fruitful career, always keeping my art low priced but high quality, as I started as an artist with nothing I never want to be out of reach for people to buy my work.”