These illustrations were commissioned for use as a skin cancer prevention campaign by Dr. Tanya Kormeili, a dermatologist in Santa Monica, CA. The doctor was looking for kama sutra and tango inspired images of sunscreen being applied to places we often miss, like feet or the little strip of skin where our clothing ends.

Denver Illustrator Michelle Kondrich - The illustration portfolio of Denver freelance illustrator, Michelle Kondrich

This week I received an offer for a four week residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. I will have a place to live and my own studio from October 29th – November 23rd at the center in Nebraska City, NE. And since I’m from Nebraska originally, it will be nice to have family close by for a while – even though my husband will have to stay in Denver.

I am so excited and I am looking forward to having that time to really focus on my work without as many outside, life distractions. I will be working on a, still unannounced, graphic novel project and may end up teaching a comics workshop or two for kids.

Sorry I couldn’t find any decent photos that I could post here, but if you go to the website you can see the gallery of where I will be staying and my studio.

Denver Illustrator Michelle Kondrich - The illustration portfolio of Denver freelance illustrator, Michelle Kondrich

A quick little painting of lovebirds that I did for my husband for our 2nd anniversary yesterday.
Available as a print at Society6.

Denver Illustrator Michelle Kondrich - The illustration portfolio of Denver freelance illustrator, Michelle Kondrich

Yesterday I finished another new watercolor illustration. This is a personal piece titled ‘Submerged.’ Prints of the piece can be found here and the original painting is also for sale in my shop. I may be rearranging my Etsy shop or starting a Big Cartel shop for all of my original paintings very soon.

I’ll stop gushing about watercolor in every post now, I promise. But I do love it!

Denver Illustrator Michelle Kondrich - The illustration portfolio of Denver freelance illustrator, Michelle Kondrich

Below is a scan of the full painting – which is also for sale (if you’re interested shoot me an email). The half-crab half-alligator creature was envisioned by the client and they specifically requested a kaiju-style  monster battle. Beyond that, I was given free reign to have fun – which I did.

Below is a larger, cropped image which is how it will appear on the site. I’ll try to grab a screenshot when it goes live. You can see some process images of the illustration in my previous blog post. It is also available as a print here.

If you like this style and you’re interested in a commission, get in touch!

Denver Illustrator Michelle Kondrich - The illustration portfolio of Denver freelance illustrator, Michelle Kondrich

This is a work-in-progress for a client and it’s my first completely watercolor and ink illustration. Yesterday I was painting for about 5 hours and it flew by. It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun coloring an illustration.

It might be time to invest in a decent set of paints and watercolor brushes.

Denver Illustrator Michelle Kondrich - The illustration portfolio of Denver freelance illustrator, Michelle Kondrich

More watercolor painting experiments for me over the weekend. After getting a recommendation, I bought this carbon ink to replace my India ink. I sketched up this little squid (or big squid, since there’s nothing to compare it to) to try out the ink and to keep practicing with the watercolors. I’m still using some cheap watercolor paper, but I have some nicer paper that I will use when I start creating full illustrations this way.

The ink is great, by the way. It dried much faster than my India ink and didn’t bleed when I added the watercolors – regardless of how much water I used. It also flowed smoothly from my nib without clogging it up.

It’s been a long time since I’ve physically painted on paper and I forgot how much fun it is. It’s also nice to have something physical to show for the work. I always thought watercolors would be far too difficult for me – in reality it looks like I may be going in this direction in a more permanent way. The slightly unpredictable textures and effects I get with the paints are so much more interesting and natural for me than those I used in Photoshop.

I am not formally listing any of these paintings for sale, but if you’ve seen something that you are interested in purchasing, get in touch. Naturally, I am also available for commission if you’d like me to create something just for you!

On an unrelated note my husband, Christopher Kondrich, is a poet and writer whose first book will be published by Parlor Press in the fall. He has started a website/blog where you can read some of his work and get updates on the book and his readings. If you like poetry, I hope you’ll check it out!

Denver Illustrator Michelle Kondrich - The illustration portfolio of Denver freelance illustrator, Michelle Kondrich

On Friday I made my first appearance as a visiting Illustrator to a local elementary school. A friend of mine from college is a teacher nearby and asked me to come speak to the 4th and 5th graders about being an Illustrator and how I come up with my ideas.

I was terrified! I had never taught anyone anything and have never felt all that comfortable going on about myself, but it actually went pretty well. The kids were very receptive and had lots of questions, including questions about how much I get paid, which was amusing – and difficult to answer.

Several of the kids were eager to show me their drawings after we finished a little exercise and lots of them wanted my autograph, which was so cute. A couple of kids even gave me their drawings.

Despite the fact that I was really nervous about the whole thing, I would definitely do more school visits. Now that I’ve got one under my belt I’ll know just how to prepare and just the right questions to ask to keep the kids really engaged.

If you are interested in having me visit your school, please get in touch. I don’t really have money to travel so if you are nearby or if you have a budget for visits I’m more than happy to talk to you about one.

Above is a quick little ink wash drawing I did about the experience.

Denver Illustrator Michelle Kondrich - The illustration portfolio of Denver freelance illustrator, Michelle Kondrich

This weekend’s watercolor experiment was inspired by the wonderful and hilarious Eddie Izzard. As part of his Glorious show he did a bit where he mentions that the only people who skip rope are little girls and huge f*&k-off boxers. If you haven’t seen his stand-up, have a look at the video below. He is one of my favorite comedians.

I had intended to do the background on this piece with just grey ink washes, but I decided to leave this as an experiment with a limited palette, color and value. I love the way the background girl’s clothing came out. Working with highlights and shadows in watercolor on faces is extremely challenging and will take a lot of practice. Also, I think I need better paper, but for now this is good for experimentation.

Denver Illustrator Michelle Kondrich - The illustration portfolio of Denver freelance illustrator, Michelle Kondrich

If you’ve been to your local grocery store and seen Sumo Mandarins and you haven’t tried them – go get some NOW. These are the most amazing fruit I have ever eaten. They are super sweet and if you juiced it and added sparkling water it would taste JUST like orange soda – without all the crap that’s in orange soda.

Anyway, they were my inspiration for another little watercolor experiment. I sit around at home just looking for excuses to keep working with the paints. If I would be a little more patient they would probably come out even better, but I tend to try adding more color before the previous color is sufficiently dry.

Denver Illustrator Michelle Kondrich - The illustration portfolio of Denver freelance illustrator, Michelle Kondrich