The Coloured Pencil Chronicles | Chapter One | January

This week, I’m introducing a new addition to my blog, which my trusty assistant, Lucy, has titled “The Coloured Pencil Chronicles”. At the end of each month, I’ll give you a run through of everything that’s happened in my crazy life as an artist, talking about - it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway - coloured pencils, new projects and tutorials, new workshops and events that I’ve run or will be running and, no doubt, you’ll hear something of my mischievous dogs and cat too! 

In Lucy’s words, “It’s about time you made a note of everything that’s been going on. Maybe that way, one of us will remember what happened from month to month!”. And, who am I to argue? So, here’s to chapter one of this new addition. I hope you’ll enjoy catching up with me each month.

The Academy Welcomed New Members

As many of you will know, I opened the Academy to new members in December, and I’m incredibly proud to say that over 500 people signed up, meaning that I now have over 1200 incredible members in total! It really is the most incredible community of artists. It’s been so lovely seeing everyone sharing their artwork and getting to know one another in the live sessions and Facebook Group. Every day, I see them helping and encouraging each other and, gosh, it really is amazing. 

New Tutorials and Live Sessions

I recently added a new tutorial focussing on this adorable Bearded Collie puppy to the Academy, and it’s gone down really well. There are some fabulous pieces that my students have done, and every day I just feel more and more proud! 

I’ve also run a couple of Confidence Sessions (which I think have to be my favourites), and I’ve introduced my new Business Drop In Sessions, which I’ll be running each month to help members who are looking to start an art business figure out where to begin and what to do. So far, I have some really brilliant feedback, and it looks like these sessions are going to really help people out. 

Interviews! 

I had a fabulous interview with the amazing Ann Kullberg as part of her Connect series, where we chatted about my journey as an artist and all things coloured pencil. It was really wonderful to be a part of and, if you want to give it a listen, it’s available to watch on YouTube here.

And, that wasn’t all! In a slightly unexpected turn of events, I was interviewed by Sky News last week, alongside Vicki Evans. What an experience that was! Originally, the plan was for it to be added to their online gallery, so some of the pressure was taken off in knowing it would all be prerecorded. Well, come the night before the interview, I get an email saying, “Here’s the Zoom link. We’re going to be live at 8:40AM. Can you have the dogs in the video as well?”. 

Imagine me looking slightly shocked and thinking, “What? Live?”, and you get the idea! We had no idea what we were going to be asked, no more than a basic idea of what we were going to be talking about. But, I practiced what I preach, put my brave pants on, and it all went very well. Vicky was fabulous (as always), and Vinnie even made a guest appearance as requested. 

I’m hoping I’ll be able to share it with you all soon, there’s just a bit of fiddling around to do with licenses before I can post it on my business pages, but keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks. 

My Latest Workshop

This week, I ran another one of my three day online workshops, where we drew this beautiful deer. Oh my goodness, it’s been fantastic. I always enjoy these workshops so much, and this was such a brilliant photo to work from. It’s a very different way of drawing for me. Normally, I’m a very mindful artist and I like to draw slowly, but with the deer, it was all about getting the texture in, then glazing the colour in over the top. And there’s no time to question yourself, you just have to crack on and keep drawing. It’s brilliant! 

Go and have a look at the drawings from those who took part. If you search for #BonnysDeerWorkshop on social media, they’ll come up. Everyone did such a great job, it really is worth seeing. 

I’ve already started planning the next workshop too. I only run them every three months or so, so the next one will be in April, and I’ll be sharing a link so you can sign up next week in my newsletter, so if you want the chance to join, make sure you’ve subscribed to my Weekly Scribble. I do like to keep the workshops small, and they book up very quickly, so keep an eye on your inbox if you want to beat everyone else to it. 

A New Challenge

Some of you may have already seen and possibly already signed up to my new 45 Minute Cat’s Eye Challenge, which I brought out last week. I wanted to create a tutorial for all of those people who don’t believe they can draw, or who have tried in the past but lost confidence and are reluctant to try again.

I wanted to show people that it’s not all about fancy pencils and paper, and all you need to do to create a really lifelike drawing is follow a few of my simple tips and tricks and have confidence in yourself! 

If you’d like to find out more about the 45 Minute Cat’s Eye Challenge and sign up for free, click here.

And that’s that! What a month! Normally, I feel like January lasts for about six months, and I always find myself wondering when it will finally be over and done with (let’s face it January doesn’t tend to be anyone’s favourite month!). But this year, there’s been so much going on, it’s absolutely flown by! Here’s hoping for a brilliant February.