Kelly Luscombe paints in oil and acrylic on canvas and wooden hinged triptychs in a provocative, narrative style. She employs portraiture and still life painting (everyday household objects of garments, shoes, china, old lamps) to tell a story or evoke an emotion. Her art works have been exhibited nationally and internationally in solo and group shows. She is known nationwide for her portrait miniatures inside triptychs. Art viewers are invited to play hide and seek with the triptych doors. Closed, the the painting summons one mood, showing the shoes of the figure inside and bits of the background on top and bottom. Opened, the triptych doors surprise the viewer with the entire portrait and background, revealing Luscombe’s compelling, often quirky choice of subjects.

   Luscombe recently completed illustrating The Art of the Table: A Complete Guide to Table Setting, Table Manners and Tableware, published by Simon & Shuster and written by her mother, Suzanne von Drachenfels. Working with her mother on a collaborative project was one of Luscombe’s lifelong dreams. It was not only her mother's request and their close relationship that drew her into the project but their mutual belief that the table, a place for celebration, is a nexus bringing together families, friends, and cultural traditions.

     In addition to painting and exhibiting her own art, Luscombe founded a gallery in San Francisco's Mission district in 1997. There she exhibited avant garde, cutting edge artists to contemporary, established artists. An active owner, she curated many of the gallery's shows in addition to inviting guest curators. She appeared on numerous television interviews in lieu of her own artwork and on behalf of the gallery with San Francisco’s television special “Inside City Limits.” The gallery was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, SF Weekly, San Francisco Metro, Artweek and Art Issues. The February, 2000 exhibition, Love Stinks, was awarded Citysearch’s Masterpiece of the Month.

      Luscombe closed the gallery in 2001 to concentrate on her own work and her other passion: teaching. An experienced instructor, Luscombe lectured and demonstrated art techniques at the major museums in San Francisco including the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum and Palace of Fine Arts. She taught art to children at the San Francisco Day School and in the public school system with the aid of grants. She has taught art privately to adults and children out of her studio for many years. Luscombe received her own B.A. in Art with a Painting Emphasis from San Francisco State University. Her European training was completed at the University of London.

     In 2001, Luscombe moved to Ojai, California to pursue her artwork with greater depth and focus, and to continue teaching art to children and adults in an idyllic setting. Her 1889 Victorian farmhouse and studio in Ojai features an art studio, a grand gallery room with over 30 foot high ceilings, swimming pool, orchards and accommodations for overnight visiting students.