Picture the word “love” drawn out in front of your eyes on a black chalk board. Waves, underwater creatures, and flowers all morphed to form the letters L, O, V, and E using every color in the rainbow.
In a single image, that would be artist Kara Hoblin.
“You can’t have positivity without love. Love of oneself, of everyone around you, of the environment.”
Back in August 2016 in Southold, Long Island, Hoblin held her first chalk art show, ‘The Art of Letting Go,’ and created her artistic image after being inspired from our initial interview.
With the intent to erase her work at the end of the evening, to reveal hidden messages below, people showed up from all over, some she barely knew and some she hadn’t seen in years.
John McLane came across Hoblin’s work at different restaurants around Greenpoint before connecting through mutual friends on Facebook and then meeting her in person on the Hampton Jitney.
“I hear her tell her name to the bus driver for the reservation and when she came up the steps I said ‘Hey, nice work!’ She didn’t know my wife and I, so she looked at us very confused. So I said, ‘The chalk drawings.’”
A native Long Islander from Blue Point, Hoblin worked in New York City at a photo and styling agency after graduating from SUNY New Paltz. While so many are tempted to leave home, Hoblin’s love for the community and nature has been her sense of gravity to the area. In returning back to the island she managed Harbes Vineyard tasting room along with handling their marketing and social media. Her first chalkboard design was at First and South Restaurant in Greenport back in 2014.
Owner of First and South, Sarah Phillips, has seen Hoblin undergo a serendipitous transition.
“In a painting she’d be beautiful, well balanced, colorful and stunning almost to a point that it’s sad because you wish that life could be like that every day,” Phillips describes.
Hoblin’s mother, Gina Crawford, described her daughters first exhibit at the young age of three years old when star and flower paintings were displayed in their home.
“At seven, eights years old she did her first exhibit at Bayport-Blue Point library about Beanie Babies. I always knew she was going to be an artist. I’m so proud of her.”
More than chalk, Hoblin explores illustration of all kinds.
“I recently started to get really involved with typography. I find it therapeutic and powerful since language (of all types) is the connecting factor for our species, and communication is both beautiful and necessary.”
Her work is whimsical in style, which she aims to remain true to. While she tries to take on as many projects as she can, they must coincide with her vision.
Living on the North Fork has become a sanctuary to her. Whether it be swimming at one of the local beaches or going on a peaceful walk through one of the many preserves there are endless locations to relax, think, and draw.
Hoblin’s most beloved activity is simply being outdoors. Whether it’s riding her bike, taking a walk with her puppy, Lily, or swimming in the sound.
In gearing her life’s work to her community, she has compiled dozens of hand drawn sketches of locations throughout the North Fork in a coloring book. Each location is depicted as Hoblin imagines it, a magical collection that is available at Burtons Bookstore in Greenport and Love Lane Kitchen in Mattituck. She’s currently working on her second coloring book depicting scenes from the South Shore and Shelter Island.
“One of my favorite swimming spots has these large rocks in the water and in the coloring book there’s a mermaid sitting on the rock. I’m really excited and I’ve put a lot of time and effort into this coloring book. I think that coloring and any type of art is really beneficial and stress relieving for the soul.”
For artist Kara Hoblin, Long Island is her inspirational masterpiece.
You can meet the artist at her next exhibit Wednesday, February 8th, from 6-8pm at Love Lane Kitchen for a reception of selected works and pop up gift shop.
Follow more from Kara Hoblin on Instagram or her website.
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This is a follow up story. The original story about The Art of Letting Go was featured in The Independent Newspaper on August 24, 2016.