Blog
Hannah Dunscombe is a painter, portrait artist, and aspiring graphic novelist based in Mansfield, MA.
In memory of Mary
Mary commissioned five paintings over the course of ten years, on top of purchasing one of my favorite oil paintings.
Portrait for our wedding
This is the result of a marathon painting session, Saturday to Sunday!
Link
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.
Monty & Toby
This is a recent commission that involved pulling two doggos from different photographs and placing them into one portrait.
Tina & Tristan
This is my cousin Tina and her husband Tristan. The two had a private ceremony in Washington, DC last year and celebrated with family in Maitland, FL this past weekend.
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.
Dot portrait
This adorable pup is Dot! This commission came in through way of Ripley’s extended family…
Ripley portrait
This was a commission for some friends over the holidays. Isn’t he the sweetest??
Holiday card 2021
This year’s holiday card is a little moody, which felt about right given how it’s been another rough one with the pandemic and a lot of transitions. Chris helped me pick it out from the photos I took on a walk with him a couple weeks ago.
Emily & Derek portrait
This portrait is based on Emily and Derek’s engagement photos and was a gift for their wedding. I really loved working on all of the beads and the embroidery on Emily’s vyshyvanka. Plus, it’s always so nice to painting people you know…
Katie and Greg get married! (again!)
This past weekend we attended a wedding in Montague, MA, which we visited back in 2018 to check out The Montague Bookmill. Katie and Greg eloped during September 2020 on their originally scheduled wedding date, and postponed their family & friends wedding until things got a little safer with covid…