Hannah Dunscombe 6/18/22 Hannah Dunscombe 6/18/22

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This portrait was a good challenge for me, since tabby fur can be so complex. It’s very tempting to get out an eye-lash thin brush and articulate every fleck of white or black to add texture, but it can end up looking hyperrealistic and leave an awkward digital graphics vibe. Instead, I went heavy on the colored pencil, which naturally creates a texture with the grain of the paper, especially when combined with layers of different tones.

Hannah Dunscombe 6/17/22 Hannah Dunscombe 6/17/22

Monty & Toby

This is a recent commission that involved pulling two doggos from different photographs and placing them into one portrait.

Hannah Dunscombe 3/13/22 Hannah Dunscombe 3/13/22

Remembering Ivy

Whenever Ivy heard a noise that might be related to food, she perked up.

It could be the fridge door opening, or the crinkle of packaging, or even the sound of tablets rattling in a vitamin bottle.

She would pop out of her enclosure, ears alert, nose pointed upward to detect the scent of appetizing food, eyes eager for some confirmation of her suspicion, teeth chattering excitedly.

These would also be accompanied by the classic guinea pig sounds of anticipation: a hopeful "brweep! brweep! beweep!" and the metallic drumming sound of teeth gnawing on the bars of her enclosure.

Hannah Dunscombe 3/10/22 Hannah Dunscombe 3/10/22

Saying goodbye to our beloved Ivy

Yesterday was one of the hardest days I've ever had. Ivy has been my friend since 2016. She was there for me when Archie died in 2019, only months before the pandemic started. I never once felt lonely over two years of working from home and then studying from home while my partner was out working each day. She comforted me while he was ill and quarantining for weeks in another room, helped me adjust to moving from an apartment we had lived in for eight years, and celebrated with us when we got engaged…