Hannah Phelps is a New England-based artist whose work is deeply inspired by the natural beauty of the region she calls home. Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and raised north of Portland, Maine, Phelps is a “classic New Englander” with a profound attachment to her geographic surroundings. Her award-winning plein air oil paintings and relief prints often capture the rugged coastline and dynamic forces of the northern New England environment.
Though she initially studied physics at Mount Holyoke College, Phelps found her true calling in drawing and painting from nature. Her background in physics informs her vivid and kinetic depictions of ocean waves and coastal landscapes. After taking painting classes at the Maryland Institute of Art while living in Baltimore, Phelps moved to New Boston, New Hampshire, where she began painting regularly.
Phelps is primarily a painter, focusing on plein air work, but has also developed a passion for printmaking. She utilizes various techniques, including jigsaw woodcuts and white-line woodcuts, the latter involving a distinctive white outline around each color shape. Phelps enjoys the sense of finality in printmaking compared to the more prolonged process of oil painting.
In addition to her artwork, Phelps offers printmaking classes, including summer workshops on Appledore Island. Her work is featured in League of New Hampshire Craftsmen stores in Nashua, Meredith, and Littleton, and she participates in events such as the League’s annual fair and the December Button Factory Open Studios in Portsmouth.
