Kara Harley

From: Maryland, USA

Background:

Kara is a lifelong artist whose tattoo career began in Virginia in 2023. She specializes in black & grey illustrative, and classical engraving tattoos; with a focus on nature based, flora & fauna designs.

Before then, Kara received her Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from the University of Maryland. While in college, she spent a semester overseas in Florence, Italy studying art. Kara enjoys delving into an array of fine art mediums including graphite illustration, printmaking, and painting.

What's Kara up to?:

Still early into her career, Kara is focused on improving her craft as an artist and continuously working on building her portfolio to reflect her passion - animals. Her goal is to specialize in animal tattoos, both land & sea, as well as plant & botanical designs.

Visit Kara's Portfolio

Kara Harley

Kara's Work

Kara specializes in black and grey illustrative work inspired by classical engraving. Her designs use clean lines and detailed shading to create a look similar to old-school woodcuts or vintage sketches. It’s a timeless, high-contrast style that makes every animal and plant stand out clearly on skin, fabric and ceramic alike.

Kara’s favourite form of inspiration is simply being out in nature - whether it be on a trail in the woods, out on the beach, or in the snow. She also enjoys collecting inspiration from books, vintage illustrations, and photographs.

Kara on Conservation & Sustainability:

Being a Piscataway Conoy Native American born in Maryland, Kara is strongly interested in preserving the land of the ancestors who walked before her. Southern Maryland carries an abundance of wildlife, with rivers and streams that all flow into the Chesapeake Bay.

Kara stands by the belief that it is vital to protect, maintain, and respect all walks of life, as we are all one within Mother Earth. All efforts to help the environment are important, no matter how small.

Once endangered, the Eurasian wolf is making a steady comeback. © Marcel Langthim

Kara’s favorite animal are wolves, with horses being a close second.

Shop Wolf

Kara’s favourite wild places are the piers that are stationed around the Potomac River. She loves to spend her evenings sitting on the dock watching the sunset while spotting blue herons, box turtles, toads, and sometimes even blue crabs.

Kara's Recommendation:

Kara’s favorite Rewild product is the “Death Head Hawks Moth” hoodie. Hoodies are a stable in Kara’s wardrobe, and thinks they are for everyone too!

Kara's Death's Head Hawkmoth

Why work with Rewild at Heart?

I chose to work with Rewild at Heart because they care about the same things I do: the outdoors and the animals that live there. It’s great to see my work move from skin to high-quality gear that people can wear out into the wild.

Shop Rewild x Kara: The Ink of the Earth Collection

Wear the Art. Ready to take Kara’s illustrative designs into the wild? We’ve featured her signature wildlife and botanical graphics on a range of premium hoodies, tees, and mugs.