Dorchester Reporter
October 10, 1996

"Savin Hill's Homegrown Picasso"
Artist James Hobin Makes Paint His Passion
by Denise Drury

It's pretty easy to spot James Hobin on the streets of Savin Hill. Besides having the distinction of being the neighborhood's own homegrown artist, he doesn't travel light.

He can be seen heading to the train station with his usual gear: a giant backpack crammed with prints, paintbrushes, pencils and even a fold out chair, coupled with a large plastic bag containing his most recent painting. But on this particular Tuesday he has an unusual addition to his usual baggage: an old-fashioned striped barber sign, freshly painted and ready to spin outside the shop on Savin Hill Ave. Hobin definitely has an eclectic repertoire of work.

After Hobin drops off the red, white and blue roll he wishes the new proprietor of the Savin Hill Barber Shop good luck and heads for Copley Square, where he will spend a few hours sketching. Abstract painting is Hobin's preferred method, but he has derived much success and satisfaction from his landscapes.

Hobin began painting at age sixteen and attended the Museum of Fine Art's after school program while a student at Boston Technical High School, after graduating, he attended Massachusetts College of Art.

"I had a little bit of talent, but I practiced a lot,' he says. "You have to practice all the time - it's like a jewel that you have to keep polishing."

Hobin described his education as excellent, though art school doesn't necessarily an artist make.

"You learn about painting at art school, but you have to become an artist on your own," says Hobin. "The real education comes after you leave school."

Hobin learned about finding his niche in landscape paintings and lithographs rather recently. In 1991, Hobin decided to leave his studio and work on some of his paintings outdoors. Being outside inspired him to paint landscapes, which have become the bread and butter of his career.

"The landscape painting finances my abstract work."

Hobin, a former carpenter, says he "put down the hard hat and picked up a beret" when he took a chance on painting professionally.

"I didn't wait for someone to make me an artist, I gave myself the job. I've brought my work to people and I've gotten a response."

Once Hobin arrives at Copley Square, he surveys the scenery and buildings, the lights and the shadows. He appears to take mental measurements of the various monuments before settling on his subject. He takes out a small, blue foldout seat and proceeds to sketch the scene before him using a stubby pencil, an eraser and a sheet of copy paper. Within two hours he completes his sketch of the Dartmouth Street side of the Boston Public Library with the New South Church as a backdrop.

Hobin will eventually use his sketch to create a lithograph of the Copley Square scene. He wants to complete this lithograph and other paintings for an upcoming exhibition of his work at Locke-Ober Cafe on Sunday, October 27 from 2-6pm. Despite the rapidly approaching date, he doesn't appear to be feeling the pressure. "Work is relaxing," says Hobin.