It wasn’t just art. It was a lifeline.

This is our creative comeback

Real people. Real comebacks. Real proof it’s never too late.

This is what happens when you finally come home to your creativity. Meet the people who picked up a pencil… and picked up their lives again.

A movement of people rediscovering the power of creativity and themselves.

I never set out to build a creative business or teach thousands of people. I was just a woman who’d forgotten what made her happy. Years in a job that didn’t light me up, a life that felt smaller than it should - and then one day, I picked up a pencil. That single moment opened a door I didn’t even know was there.

Through drawing, I found a way back to myself - to peace, joy, and possibility. Every time I sat down at my desk, I could breathe again. That’s what creativity does - it reconnects you to the parts of yourself you thought were lost.

Now, ten years on, I’m here to remind others that it’s never too late. Your creativity is still there, waiting for you. This is your time to step into colour, courage, and confidence. This is your Creative Comeback.

I never set out to build a creative business or teach thousands of people. I was just a woman who’d forgotten what made her happy. Years in a job that didn’t light me up, a life that felt smaller than it should - and then one day, I picked up a pencil. That single moment opened a door I didn’t even know was there.

Through drawing, I found a way back to myself - to peace, joy, and possibility. Every time I sat down at my desk, I could breathe again. That’s what creativity does - it reconnects you to the parts of yourself you thought were lost.

A 10-Year Celebration of Creativity, Confidence & Community

Cheryl Pirikahu

 I felt good about it so my husband brought me a set of polychromes pencils and sign me up to bonny I can't believe what I could created. I sometimes look back at what I have done and say to myself I did that. am not sure what would have happened if I had not found bonny. I look forward to all the videos of chatting in your kitchen Thank you from someone that never new what she could do with a pencil and looking forward to what I can do next. 

Chelsea

 I built myself as an artist painting reborn dolls, but decided to get back to faces in 2022 I showed up for myself the way I wish someone had shown up for me. And somewhere in that process, I found my own spark. Now, faces don’t feel impossible—they feel like a fun challenge

Angie

After getting divorced after 25 years and being 50 at that time I started drawing with graphite pencils.needless to say I never knew of colored pencils artist was a thing..I started watching you tube videos and took me into a place of awww...I want to do that...then I found bonny and thats all it took. Friends and family always say you have your moms gift...or your mom would be so proud...your so talented like your mom. I think of her everytime I draw and has truly been the absolute best thing I've ever done for myself 

Lesley

Being able to find a quiet reflective time for myself using coloured pencils and being part of a group (who have their own personal reasons) has provided me with the required confidence and strength for the future

Mary Ryan

My brother had always been encouraging me to go back to art, but life got in the way. But something clicked inside me last year when I saw that drawing in my brother's house, I realised that I had allowed forty years to pass me by, with next to no creativity

“It wasn’t about art. It was about feeling alive again.”

“One pencil stroke, and I remembered who I was.”

A movement of people rediscovering the power of creativity and themselves.

I kept trying to pick up my color pencils to complete a drawing I started before I broke my wrist, but I struggled cognitively with choosing colors and drawing what I saw. However, I kept at it. Although it took me over two years, I finished a drawing of our beloved kitty Sophie which I started shortly after completing chemotherapy. It is a very special piece for me, as it is a reminder that despite some pretty significant medical issues, I did not give up drawing. I am now doing what I was born to do…draw. Drawing is not merely an afterthought or something I do when I have time. For me, it is an activity which is purposeful, respected, and important. It is something I have scheduled into every day, and I enjoy each moment I put pencil to paper.

Louise Harmon

 After graduation, I pretty much stopped drawing anything seriously until now. I have jumped in with both feet and I’m more active than ever. What inspired me was painting rocks with my grand kids. It felt so good to pick up a brush and paint again. I started researching and decided that I would like to try coloured pencils, and then it was oil pastels and soft pastels, water colour along with my acrylics. I feel like I have my mojo back. I am absolutely loving every minute drawing and being part of a group of artists. A year later and I have entered my work into a contest and was successful, I have a commission right now that I’m working on, can life get any better? What’s most exciting is that there’s so many wonderful and kind artists here in this academy that are willing to help with us all by offering tips and suggestions and then there’s BONNY! You are the best mentor and friend

Marilu Murphy

I have always been creative—interior decorating, floral art, sewing, knitting…—my mind is never truly at rest. The ordeal of illness taught me the importance of taking care of myself, without forgetting others, and savoring every moment, because life is short. When I draw with Bonny, time disappears. I watch a work come to life, stroke by stroke, and each time, it’s a little bit of life that emerges. Observing the progress of the drawing, feeling my well-being and satisfaction grow, brings me deep fulfillment.  

Chantal

As I was walking by a table, I noticed someone doing a beautiful cat drawing and I said “you can do THAT with colored pencils”? She said she was doing a Bonny Snowdon tutorial and, immediately after that meeting, Bonny became my first and only art teacher. 🤗. I joined Patreon and then the Academy and haven’t looked back since. The pencils…the papers…the colors…Art Club…I LOVE it all and I thank God every single day that, at this age, my brain and hands allow me to create, not only for myself, but to gift and uplift others. I don’t count it an accident that I ‘met’ Bonny!  

Carol Wood

During the Pandemic, I thought I'd try coloured pencils. I found Bonny on line and from then on found my real niche and haven't stopped drawing since. It brings me so much calm and pleasure and even though I don't advertise I get quite a few commissions through recommendations. I cannot believe how much I've improved and I'm just living my best life, aged 74 and enjoying drawing almost every single day. I now tell people I'm an artist and I have grown in confidence and can say how proud I am of myself. I can honestly say it has changed my life. I have lots of other interests plus grandchildren, but I always have time for drawing. 

Sheila Hart

One day my sister said, “why do you talk about Bonny Snowden so much?” I tried to stress to her that she introduced me to the ability to fulfill myself with art and not feel guilty in any way about it, having MY TIME was okay. Soon, she decided to explore watercolors the same way I had explored colored pencil and pastels back in 2016. She became just as enamored with watercolors and has become a very good artist. In our retirement, we have both been so happy having project after project going on in our respective mediums and get to talk to each other about what we’re working on at the moment. It’s a powerful thing to have in our lives and definitely fulfills our hours.

Elise Richey

“Creativity didn’t just heal me, it brought me back to myself.”

“For years I thought I was lost. Turns out I was just waiting to begin.”

“I didn’t rediscover drawing. I rediscovered me.”

I had to retire when I was 28 because of my back. It's hard to explain, but I had slowly lost a big part of myself to my back. For a while, that was all there was...there was no me, just a stupid, oddly shaped pain ridden back. I lost self-confidence, and self-esteem. I never had much to begin with, so I didn't have a lot going for me after I gave up work. Then, somehow, I enrolled myself in an art class and everything changed. Art changed me. We're going back a long time, there were no online classes, so it meant I had a class, one afternoon a week for a couple of hours. It was good for me, but it was also difficult physically because of my back. After a while, I had to give it up. But my confidence had grown. I realised that there was more to me than my back. I kept painting at home, then with the arrival of the Internet, I taught myself watercolours with the help of an online site. But, every so often, my back stopped me and the gaps became longer. And with each long gap, my confidence dropped. I looked at my paintings, and instead of being proud, I couldn't see how I had been able to create them. A couple of years ago, I decided I needed to get over that and looked for some online tuition. I was sure that could help. That's when I found you, and, well, I began creating again. And I was proud of my work. I still have times when I simply cannot sit to draw, but, I haven't lost the enthusiasm to get back to it.

Somehow, I enrolled myself in an art class and everything changed. Art changed me. We're going back a long time, there were no online classes, so it meant I had a class, one afternoon a week for a couple of hours. It was good for me, but it was also difficult physically because of my back. After a while, I had to give it up. But my confidence had grown.  A couple of years ago, I looked for some online tuition. I was sure that could help. That's when I found you, and, well, I began creating again. And I was proud of my work. I still have times when I simply cannot sit to draw, but, I haven't lost the enthusiasm to get back to it.

Lisa Budd

My daughter was born with a complex heart condition and genetic disorder and I had to give up my career to become her full time carer. The mural sparked something in me and I stumbled across Bonny right when I needed her most. I did coloured pencil week and I was hooked. This is my me time, my direction, my purpose, my inspiration, my calm in the storm of life as a heart mum. My daughter has seen me grow in my art and I hope it brings her inspiration too. I have just completed my first commission and I can’t quite believe that I did it. 

Shauna Lee 

I did art all through my married and family raising years in all mediums and my husband made frames for me. I had several pieces in our local gallery.My art actually stopped when I lost my beloved husband of 50 years in 2019. My life was shattered. A few years later I found Bonny's Patreon and decided to give it a go and I've been drawing ever since. I sometimes felt guilty like I was wasting time but I always remember my husband telling me that " If you enjoy what you are doing its not wasting time". With art, I can feel my husband's presence and it's comforting to me and I enjoy the feeling art gives me and I'm still combining colors and shading in circles.

Elizabeth

“It’s never too late to return to the person you were always meant to be.”

“Creativity saved me long before it made me confident.”

“Picking up a pencil was the first brave thing I’d done in years.”

“Everything changed the moment I stopped being afraid to start.”

“This isn’t a hobby. It’s a lifeline.”