Alphonso Dunn was born in Jamaica, where he showed his love for drawing at a very young age. At 17 he migrated to the United States and inspired by ambitions for a career in medicine he studied chemistry at William Paterson University. However, after college, his enduring passion for drawing led him to pursue his MFA at the New York Academy of Art. Upon completing graduate study, he taught high school chemistry and college art courses for several years.
In addition to his pen-and-ink work and art instruction books, Dunn is known for producing hundreds of free instructional videos on YouTube, which has over 700,000 followers. His videos provide introductory art instruction on a variety of topics, including drawing, sketching, pen and ink, watercolor, linear perspective, urban sketching, anatomy and more. 
He currently lives and works in New Jersey.