Phebe Burnham, winner of many awards in national juried shows for her oils, acrylics and pastels, received her training in the Fine Arts at the Swain School of Design in Massachusetts. Her advanced studies were in New York City at the Columbia University School of Painting and Sculpture and also at the Art Students League.
The "Unconventional Phebe" nom de guerre comes from Douglas Zullo in a March/April 2000, Canine Images magazine article of the same name. In the article Mr. Zullo describes Phebe's unique approach to animal portraits depicting them digging claws in the carpet or scratching at fleas. Her human portraits are just as creative and humorous.
Her mixed media technique using an ink resist method with a gouache, ink and pastel on colored canson paper gives a wood cut effect and lends itself well to her specialties of landscapes, portraits and animals. She paints in a realistic style with a freshness and humor that is highly prized by collectors internationally.