A Teacher Who's Got My Back: Debra Dunphy

I've been studying with Debra Dunphy for quite a few years now, and she's an outstanding teacher and a fantastic oil painter. She's always got my back in class.

Debra runs Dunphy Art Studio & Gallery on Race Street in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where she paints and teaches in oils. Her website is full of portraits, pet portraits, still lifes, and Mount Snow scenes, all painted with a beautiful blend of softness and a high degree of realism. She also paints live at weddings, setting up at the celebration and finishing the canvas afterward in her home studio.

Over the years, we've worked through more than a dozen portraits together, along with anatomy and color studies, drawings, and plenty of landscapes. We've done a lot of ocean scenes and lighthouses, too, which probably won't surprise anyone who has looked at my paintings.

Our classes run on correction. I'm always making huge mistakes, and she's always correcting me. I mean that as the highest praise. A good teacher spots what's wrong and says so, and then stays on your side while you fix it.

That's also how a small group of us came to form around her—a few painters who gather to study portraiture in oils.

You can see Debra's work, learn about her portrait commissions and live wedding paintings, and join her email list at debradunphy.com.