[7] While teaching the play Shakuntala with the help of images, the officer who came to inspect the school noticed Hebbar's artistic talents and encouraged him to take up art education.

But after a brief period, Hebbar dropped out of school, tired of the monotonous and arid climate there, and started working for a photographer in Udupi.

Hebbar arrived in Mumbai in 1933 and began his studies at Nutan Kala Mandir, an art school established by G. S. Dandavatimath.

[9] In the year that followed, he completed a specialization in mural painting under the mentorship and encouragement of C. R. Gerrard, then director of the School of Art.

"[7] After that, Hebbar remained in constant touch with art institutes at different levels and emphasized on the importance of discipline in education.

[10] He also presided at several important positions which included the role of chairman at the Artists' Centre, Mumbai (1953-73)[11] and at the Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi (1980-84).

[12] During the initial days of his career, Hebbar was influenced by the two-dimensional color scheme and line quality of the Indian miniature style.

In 1946, he saw dark brown figures in white clothes on the green fields of Kerala during a study tour in South India.

[15] This knowledge about dance influenced a lot of his work, including the well known line art based drawings that he had created.

By the year 1959, Hebbar discovered a linear rhythm and he began to search for his own personality in the lives of ordinary people.

Their artistic pilgrimage through arid valleys without clear vistas of their target that makes sincere efforts like those of Mr. Hebbar doubly welcome and refreshing.

[19] Hebber was brought up in a village where people celebrated traditional festivals and performed rich folk dances.

[7] People toiling in the farms, rural men and women engaged in dancing, villagers performing prayers on the occasion of the festival - such subjects were a common feature in his artworks.

[9] His early artworks were called his Kerala phase because of his depiction of the landscapes of the regions of Malabar and Tulu Nadu.

An artist, being a part of human society, wants his works to be communicative, though not in a sense of telling a story, teaching a moral or describing nature's grandeur.

If a work of art displays technical perfection and also expresses a certain mood, thought or idea, communication becomes more meaningful."

[10] Some of the notable paintings of Hebbar are Hill station (1931), Karla Caves, Maidenhood, Beggars (1955), Cock Fight,[21] Hungry Soul (1952),[22] Folk Rhythm (1962), Storm (1969), Homage to Indian Music (1971), Full Moon (1972)[14] among many others.

Hebbar was commissioned by the Government of India to create paintings based on the achievements of Indian Army during the Italian campaign.

[7] His portraits of John F. Kennedy and Jawaharlal Nehru as well as fifty one line drawings on Cilappatikaram were published in The Illustrated Weekly of India.

His painting Women Bathing was showcased at the international exhibition organized by UNESCO at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris in 1946.

[35] The K. K. Hebbar Foundation has been established in his name which provides scholarships to six students each year, honors veteran painters, and organizes art workshops.