Hi, I’m a working artist, illustrator, and art educator based in metro Atlanta. I earned my BA in Studio Art from Auburn University and spent several years training in classical techniques before launching my career as a contemporary realist painter. Over the next decade, I focused on portraits and gallery work, eventually expanding into illustration—creating children’s books, products, surface patterns, and prints.

Since 2006, I’ve been sharing my love of art through teaching, offering classes in Classical Drawing, Painting, Portraiture, and Illustration at local art centers. For the past four years, I’ve had the joy of teaching K–8 art at a wonderful private school in Roswell. In May 2025, I earned my Master’s in Art Education from Piedmont University, strengthening my passion for nurturing creativity in students of all ages.

I love guiding students as they discover their artistic voices, encouraging them to explore with playful curiosity and joy in the creative process.

When I'm not busy creating art, you can find me snuggling my dog, hiking with my husband, or dominating [destroying] my three kids in competitive four-square. 

 Visit MelaniePonchot.com to check out my studio and illustration work.