A Greenport artist who sees the North Fork as a “mystical, magical place” has created a coloring book that she hopes captures the beauty of the place she calls home.
Kara Hoblin, whose art you may have seen decorating many a chalkboard around town recently, has been working for months to illustrate some of her favorite spots on the North Fork.
See previous story: ‘The art of letting go’: What working with a temporary medium has taught Greenport chalk-artist Kara Hoblin
Now, Hoblin is publishing her drawings in “A North Fork Coloring Book,” which will be available for purchase at the Maritime Festival next weekend.
“The book is my rendition of my favorite places on the North Fork, but in a much more imaginative, magical sense,” Hoblin explained. “It captures how I feel about this very beautiful place.”
Hoblin, who grew up on Long Island and has been visiting the North Fork since age 15, moved to Greenport three years ago.
“One of the first times I drove out to the North Fork, I was on this long road with farms on one side and trees on the other. I remember noticing how, at night, you can see the stars in the sky since there’s no light out here,” Hoblin said. “It felt like being transported to a magical place.”
That feeling of magic and wonder has stayed with Hoblin the three years she’s lived on the North Fork.
“Sometimes, you’ll see something and you’ll think to yourself ‘that looks really good,’ but when you try it, it’s not what you wanted,” Hoblin said. She gave an example of avocado ice cream, something which she isn’t sure exists — though if it did, Magic Fountain would have it, she added.
“It might look really interesting to try, and it has this beautiful green color on the outside but when you bite into it, it’s not at all what you expected,” Hoblin said. “I had the complete opposite reaction with moving to the North Fork — it’s even better than I thought it would be.”
Hoblin captured some of her favorite places in the coloring book, such as Little Creek Oysters, First and South restaurant, Bug Lighthouse, Rocky Point Beach and many more. When asked to pick a favorite, she couldn’t decide.
“I love these places so much,” she explained. “They all mean a lot to me.”
Hoblin feels that the North Fork is not only filled with beautiful places, but beautiful people.
“I’ve met so many creative, unique, real people that care about their community. We’re all in this together, and they completely understand that,” Hoblin said. “Living here the last few years has opened my eyes to how amazing and wonderful not just this place is, but this community is.”
And she’s more than happy to get to share her love of her new home with others. Hoblin chose to create a coloring book because of the accessibility of the medium, she said, pointing out that coloring is something “everyone can enjoy.”
“It’s great to be able to share my vision of the North Fork with other people, and have them be able to enjoy it in a creative way,” Hoblin said.
Hoblin will be selling copies of the book for $25 at the Maritime Festival, which opens next weekend in Greenport.