Coloured Pencil Chronicles | Chapter Twenty Six | February

What a month February has been so let’s just jump into it and let me catch you up on all that’s been going on at the Bonny Snowdon Academy!

What’s New This Month:

There have been a few new art projects this month including a new commission piece of a dog called Fitzgerald. I loved drawing him, he had the most wonderful wiry fur that was just so much fun to draw. I also created a new tutorial for my Ignite Members of this adorable yellow labrador puppy Hugo, which is all about building up lots of layers on Pastelmat to get a nice rich colour. My Ignite members and I have also made good progress drawing a Kingfisher in Art Club, which we should finish in the next couple of weeks, and I’m been loving seeing everyone's renditions.

This month has also seen the arrival of the latest Ignite Members’ Virtual Exhibition featuring amazing artwork by so many wonderful Ignite Members from all over the world. There are around 100 pieces of artwork to explore and such a wide variety of subjects and styles. I’m so proud of all of my members and, if you haven’t already, you have to check out the exhibition because I know that your jaw will drop at some of the talent on display! You can view the exhibition here.

My Holiday:

I went on an amazing holiday with my children and it was just fantastic. We booked it a year ago and it wasn’t something I would normally do and we did a lot, so I feel like I now need a month to recover! But it was an incredible experience and I’m so glad I got to experience it all with my children. First, we travelled to Sweden and stayed in the Ice Hotel, we drank cocktails out of ice glasses and tried our hand at ice sculpting, which I have to say I wasn’t very good at! There were also a few tears overnight here due to a sleeping bag situation, but if you want to hear that full story, watch the full video at the top of this page. We then travelled to Finland where we spent 3 days at the Northern Lights Village and oh my gosh, I want to go back there already! We did Husky sledging, met the reindeer and went on a sleigh ride, drove snowmobiles, and it snowed the full 3 days. It was just magical! We then drove to Norway and went on a Northern Lights hunt; sadly it was a full moon, so it was quite bright, but we did get to see them very faintly, which was just fantastic. I took so many photos!

What’s Coming Up:

I’ve got a very exciting, but very busy couple of weeks coming up! Firstly I’m running my next one-day workshop this Sunday, which I’m looking forward to as it’s all about the fundamentals of drawing horses and taking a deep dive into the techniques. I’m also going to be working on a new short, but very cute, tutorial for the Ignite Membership, which will hopefully be available in the next couple of weeks. I’m also incredibly excited that this time next week, I’m going to be running the next Great British Art Party! My team and I are heading up to Edinburgh on Thursday so we are all ready on Friday morning to get everything organised ready for the event. I can’t tell you how excited I am to run this event again and get to chat and hug so many lovely people from our community. It’s just going to be fantastic, and then, when it’s all over, we’re heading back home on Saturday, ready for me to travel back to Norway on Sunday! This time for a cruise with my parents and sister.

If you want to hear more in-depth about all the events of this month, make sure to watch the video at the top of this page and I'll look forward to seeing some of you next week!