Chelle Greene
After years of illness, I never thought I’d be creative again. In 2021, I had a severe reaction to the Pfizer vaccine that left me weak and struggling to walk. The next year, I was hospitalized with double bilateral pulmonary embolisms after getting COVID. Then in 2023, Ramsay Hunt Syndrome caused facial paralysis, double vision, and hearing loss. It felt like piece by piece, my world was shrinking — and with it, my creative spark disappeared. Everything changed during the 2024 Pencil Week Workshop when we drew a cat’s eye. That single moment reignited something I thought I’d lost forever. From that day on, I was hooked. Each drawing became part of my healing, helping me rebuild strength, confidence, and joy. Art has become my anchor. Even with ongoing balance and mobility challenges, drawing gives me a way to feel alive again. It reminds me that creativity truly can bring you back to yourself. Thank you Bonny! Art gave me hope again!!
Miriam Oostendorp
I've been going through a rough patch. After several heart attacks (the first was right after my son was born at 33, 15 years ago) and open-heart surgery five years ago, I spent a long time searching for ways to relax again. I tried everything (acrylic paint, oil paint, and Copic markers), but I never felt like I had a spark. Until I discovered colored pencils earlier this year. Wow, I'm now addicted to drawing, and it gives me so much peace. I'm grateful for every day I've been given, and I'm so glad I found colored pencils!
Karen
I was part of Bonny’s Patreon group and moved to her Academy when it opened and loved it all, I didn’t know I had any ability to draw before seeing one of her YouTube videos. But then at the end of 2021 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had to have some time off work for the treatment (all OK now) and thought I would use the time to draw. But instead of that I completely lost my mojo and stopped drawing altogether - I even sold some of my pencils! I left the Academy because it wasn’t worth paying for something I wasn’t using. Then this year I saw the Coloured Pencil Week and decided I had nothing to lose. Now I am back in the swing of things (back in the Academy) and loving drawing again. It took a long time to come back to drawing and letting myself create but I think it helps me cope emotionally with a stressful job because when I’m drawing I’m not thinking of anything else.
Robert Teeple
I discovered my passion for art at the age of 10 after coming across an advertisement in a magazine that read, "If you want to learn how to draw, draw this picture and send it in." Those who qualified would be accepted into a mail-order art school. Inspired, I completed the drawing and submitted it for evaluation. From there, I started receiving art projects to complete. In high school, I took additional art classes, and after graduating, I enrolled at Ferris State University in 1966 to study commercial art. However, during his first semester, I received a draft notice and decided to join the Air Force. After serving in Vietnam, I returned home, got married, had children, worked as a corporate pilot and later as an electronics engineer, owned my own business, and eventually retired at the age of 76. Now, at 78 years old, I picked up drawing again eight years ago with Bonny Snowdon. At the time she was just starting out teaching and I really liked the way she taught and explained things. I chose colored pencils as my medium because they are compact and manageable, especially since I live in a condo. I find paint too messy and chalk too dusty. By scouring the internet, he learned various skills and more or less taught himself until I met Bonny. I am still learning and continually strive to improve my craft. Drawing not only keeps me active but also provides me with a fulfilling hobby. In addition to drawing for himself, I recently started teaching a class at Crafters Paradise and I enjoy it immensely, as it helps me stay sharp. I frequently create pet portraits for individuals mourning the loss of their pets and I am beginning to take on more human portraits. Recently, one of my drawings was featured in Colored Pencil Magazine. Currently, I am studying with botanical art. I aim to perfect my skills to create more realistic art. One important piece of wisdom I impart to my students is the importance of practicing light pressure when drawing. I emphasizes that drawing fundamentally involves shapes and values and that layering colors adds depth and realism to the artwork.
It has given me the confidence to teach others.
Social Media: Robert Teeple
Sue Parry
There was a period in my life that was becoming a total disaster. My marriage had broken down and I was bordering on being a very functional alcoholic. My daughter’s marriage was breaking down and the family was becoming totally dysfunctional. All her children were removed by DHS the night before I was due to travel to West Africa for my youngest daughter‘s wedding. My eldest son was incarcerated for 19 years as a result of drug use. Then cancer was discovered in my oesophagus. After treatment and major surgery the last thing that I really wanted to do was create, but my life was a total mess and I had to do something otherwise I would not survive.
Then I found coloured pencils, My life changed, I was at peace, I felt a calmness that I had never felt before, I was happy with my work and happy with me, I found myself again. Art saved my life.
Website: http://www.suzettesart.com
Social Media: Insta. suzettes_art
Angie
Lots of reason I came to drawing..but mostly my Mother..she was an pastel artist and watercolor painter. growing up id sit in her art room and watch her.. unfortunately she took her own life but her art remained with her true memories. I kept her pastel pencils they were originally kept in ..a cute carrier with a heart as the handle. I wanted to be like her..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 hunk of her everytime I draw and has truly been the absolute best thing I've ever done for myself.
Social Media: @angielynn art
Sheila Grillo
In my lifespan I had a pretty good life. With a family of 6 siblings. I knew when I was very young that I loved art. I loved to draw. I was the student who would draw in class instead of my math assignment however my teacher would always catch me and I would miss recess. Through the years my father passed away of a sudden heart failure. My family helped each other out becouse that is how we survived. When I was old enough, I did not have the money to continue on to further college in which I would had done something with my art. So I worked in different fields . I finally started my own business with a cleaning service for residential and office. It was a success for 30 yrs. Within that time we had two tragedies in my family, I lost two brothers. Around 2016...I helped take care of my Mother with dementia. A friend posted a picture on Facebook of a painting she did. I asked where she did this...story short..I started taking paint classes and loved it. It helped me deal with tragedy and my Mom ..a lot!!! After she passed away 2017.. I still continued painting. Then one day I picked up a pencil and started to sketch. I looked I looked on line and saw your animal tutorials Bonnie and was so intrigued by it. I decided I wanted to draw animals...I never worked with colored pencils before, but found that I enjoyed it as well as it helped me recover from my losses. I did have another creative outlet to gardening as this helped me too. I love to be creative outside. So I built 9 garden beds around my house. I love it. I have taken so many photos I. which I have yet to draw or paint. I believe Creativity has kept me grounded through the years. It opened my eyes to new possibilities. I was doing what I Intended to do, even though its a bit later in my life.
Social Media: Facebook Artistic Inspirations
Sonja Farrell
As far back as I can remember, I ached to learn to draw. I was, however, raised by parents who were ‘officially’ bonkers. I was eventually removed from my family at age 16 (stick with me-it gets better, way better!). As a means of surviving in my family, I shut down my desire to do art. Fast forward…..while in the midst of applying to grad school, my husband decided to take an early retirement. I decided that, instead of going to grad school, I would build an art studio in our back yard. I promised myself that, if I was going to spend the money, time and effort to build my studio, I would commit to doing whatever it took to work through my block to doing art. The first time I went into my newly completed studio, I sat in my chair, and sobbed, as I had absolutely no idea what to do out there. My dream was at my fingertips, but I didn’t know where to start. Then I remembered that I owned the book, Drawing From the Right Side of the Brain. I worked through the exercises in the book. Then I took a neighborhood watercolor class with a friend, later teaching myself how to paint flowers, one of which won one of ten awards given in a competition, out of 830 accepted entries. Two summers ago, I was invited to be the guest artist at a fabulous art gallery, which was absolutely thrilling! Last winter I started seeing realistic colored pencil artwork online and was entranced. I knew that I just HAD to learn how to do that type of drawing. I joined Bonny Snowdon Academy last January. Now, each day, I absolutely can’t wait to get my ‘have to dos’ out of the way, so that I can escape out to my studio (my happy place!) and draw along with Bonny or on my own!
Jean Kinion
Creativity runs in my family, but I never thought I was very creative. Growing up my grandmother and my mom would always be making stuff to sell at the local flea market. I would always help them, but I never created anything on my own. Growing up my mom owned Beauty Colleges and I worked at the college doing the books and managing the business. I was always pretty good with numbers, so I got my degree in Accounting. Once my parents retired my husband and I bought the college from my parents and then I became the owner of the Beauty College and was always very busy on the business side of things. You would think being in the Cosmetology Industry I would be more creative, but I was so busy running things I never really had time to do the creative stuff. Here we are 40 years later and I picked up colored pencils and have never looked back. I retired in 2024 and in September of 2024 I took a local colored pencil class and fell in love with it. I always loved coloring in adult coloring books, but I never really knew what really went into drawing with colored pencils. I took a second colored pencil class and I just got more and more excited about doing it. Then I found the academy and I have never looked back. I am all in. Each day I don't get to do colored pencils I feel like I am missing something. I totally lose track of time and get so involved with the drawings I am oblivious to whatever else is going on around me. I am truly excited to continue with colored pencils and see just how creative I can get over time
Denise
During lockdown I was struggling to look after my infirm parents who were 150 miles away, I couldn’t get to see them, both were suffering with dementia. Life was pretty stressful, I was so worried about them (they had carers, but not being able to be with them was really difficult, I was at my wits end and often had panic attacks). One day I remembered how much I had enjoyed art at school. I was never top of the class, but I thought if I’m stuck indoors, I may as well do something to develop myself, even at my age. Plus I needed to take my mind out of the world, even if only for an hour. I’d bought some graphite pencils ages ago, which were gathering dust, I also still had my old watercolour box from school when I did ‘O’ level Art 40+ years ago. I decided to draw my cat. That was the start.
Mary Ryan
About a year ago I was visiting my brother's house and he had an old drawing of mine framed and on display. It was a drawing I had done at age 17 while in the art school in Cork. I had had a disappointing experience in art school; they were pushing a more abstract style and that was not me. So I gave up art and pushed it to the back of my mind. 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.
Louise Harmon
My ‘creative comeback’ had a few stumbling blocks… I have always loved to draw. For my 8th Christmas, I received a Venus Paradise Coloring set. Who knew back then that I would still be drawing with color pencils many decades later! As an adult, I took art classes and even had my own successful antique doll restoration business which required skill with an airbrush and painting extremely fine details such as eyelashes. However, a messy divorce robbed me of my confidence in my artistic skills. It wasn’t until many years later, that I decided to pick up a pencil again. I was just getting started when cancer came along, and the chemotherapy which saved my life left me with significant neuropathy in my hands. Holding a pencil was difficult and much of my drawing was shaky. One day I became so frustrated with a piece I was working on that I tore it to shreds. My husband heard me sobbing and asked what was wrong. He gently handed me my pencil, encouraging me to try again. When I said that at this rate, I would go through all of my paper before I would ever finish a decent picture, he simply told me that wasn’t a problem because he would buy me more paper. However, giving up-that was not an option. I found a wonderful local art teacher-Oksana, who not only kept my spirits up, but also wouldn’t allow me to quit. As Oksana predicted, the neuropathy in my hands resolved. I was making so much progress in regaining my artistic skills, but then… I fell and badly fractured my right (dominant) wrist. I had an amazing hand surgeon who put all of the pieces of my wrist back together. She encouraged me to continue drawing as part of my rehab, and 8 weeks later, I was drawing as good as before… Until… I developed a serious brain bleed two months later and nearly died. My recovery was challenging. I had to re-learn how to walk up steps again and reading books (my favorite pastime) was incredibly difficult. 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.
Vicky Toledo
I used to draw and paint with oil as a hobby. Fifteen years ago I became to feel sick, all the paint mediumsade me fell so sick and just left it. Happened to have Lyme disease as a professional illness, I'm veterinarian. After years of worsening, last year I had to stop working. Pain, fatigue, brain fog, and more. I started drawing with coloured pencils 2024 summer, because this medium doesn't make me feel sick. And I needed to do something in order not to feel useless... I discovered that I hadn't lost my ability to create, and now drawing is my principal activity. After discovering Bonny's Academy I have improved my skills and now I have commissions every month. I can't do this for living, as I only can draw one or two hours per day. But my self-esteem is in its right place.
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/la_mirada
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Alison Bishop
had often sketched and doodled as a child and teenager but i was too busy with horses to really spend much time at it. In 2013 my husband and I took early retirement and moved from the Isle of Man to Spain. I decided to have a go at painting and bought a set of oil paints and started painting landscapes, dogs and horses. My art was put on hold when In 2017 my husband was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and was given 3 months at most. I had no time for anything, I took a job to help with medical costs, i got up at 4.30am to see to him before work, went to work and cared for him when i got back. In 2020 (a week before lockdown ) I woke up hearing screaming, I rushed down stairs and found my husband on fire! I pulled him off the bed rolled him on the floor (20st) and got his clothes off. I tried calling the ambulance but no one would come, I ended up carrying/dragging him to the car to take to hospital. He died a week later from the burns and the world went into lockdown. I was in a house on my own, suffering from PTSD in a foreign country, unable to speak the language. I had to break the downward spiral, and ordered some pastel pencils off the internet and started drawing animals. A year or 2 later I discovered Bonny and coloured pencils. Ignite has helped me recover from my ordeal, my drawing has improved, and the confidence sessions have helped me to believe in myself again. Thank you Bonny and everyone in the Ignite community for making me feel I am part of something special.
Judy
I used to draw a lot as a child with dad's encouragement although, as an 8 year old, my grasp of perspective wasn't as he would have wished! My mother's contribution, vividly remembered, was to follow my efforts with one question. "What is that supposed to be?" So, other than the occasional foray into something artistic with my auntie, I pretty much gave up. Years later, auntie bought me a book and some Derwent Coloursoft pencils and I started to dabble. While I was still working and could set myself up with some more pencils and surfaces and found YouTube tutorials. I wasn't very successful but I knew that drawing could take me to a happy place once in a while. I decided to retire and promptly found out that I had cancer. After surgery then radiotherapy, I really needed that happy place and started to be more serious about my drawing. Temporarily! My husband's own health journey began so there were lots of appointments for consultants, treatment and surgery and visiting happy places had to slow down but became even more important in helping me through, and him indirectly! Pencils to the rescue!
Susan Walker
Having always enjoyed art at school I did very little until I joined a local Water Colour painting class back in 1990. This gave me the confidence to have a go at wildlife paintings. I was reasonably happy with the results and it became an annual thing to create a Christmas card for friends and family. But with my job and bringing up my daughter, creating a Christmas card was the only artwork I managed to produce. In 2008 after two earlier diagnoses of cancer I was told I had a sarcoma in my chest. Following a second opinion at The Royal Marsden, it was decided that the only answer was to have a forequarter amputation which meant removing my right arm and shoulder. As this was my dominant arm I knew this was an end to my watercolour painting. However, as time went on I decided to pick up my brushes and try and create a Christmas card to send to my surgeon at The Royal Marsden so he could see how well I was coping without my right arm. He was delighted with the results and so once again it became an annual tradition with my Christmas cards becoming almost as good as those achieved with my right arm. During the next 15 years I was to face 3 more cancer diagnoses which thankfully, were all treated successfully including terminal lung cancer. But then in January 2024 my husband had serious complications following surgery for bowel cancer and spent the next five months in hospital. It was during this terrible time that I read about Bonny Snowdon and saw all her stunning artwork. I realised that this was just what I needed as a distraction from the daily hospital visits and all the worry about my husband’s future and so I joined the Academy! And it was one of the best things I have done. The wonderful tutorials and Bonny’s upbeat attitude about life was the best therapy for me. Despite my husband being given two days to live and moved to a hospice I am delighted to tell you that together, our strength got us through some very dark days and he is now well on the road to recovery and back playing golf! As for me, my confidence with my coloured pencil drawings has gone from strength to strength and I have just completed my 3rd commission and even getting braver by increasing my prices! Thank you so much Bonny for all that you put into the Ignite Academy and the confidence you have inspired in me!
Joyce Magdalene
The interest in drawing, painting and colouring began in childhood. Father bought me colouring books and painting. Mother discouraged me except for needlework, which I did in school and of course my lessons.I reconnected with drawing in teachers' training college(prepa for teaching aids) and totally involved after early retirement. I always knew there was a hidden artist in me. The magnificence of , wonder of creation, proppeled me on. A leaf, cats, flowers which I looked without proper observance vanished. They are perfectly made, just I did not realize it. I want to put it on paper. I also sew, cross stitch, knit and crochet. I am a little of a lazy bone now because I do not see where I can go with art and everything else. But I still do it cause it gives me great pleasure.
Lynne Bush
My husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2019, just before lockdown. We joined the Younger People With Dementia charity and during lockdown they ran Zoom art workshops. I sat in on these, and to encourage my husband, I started joining in and found that I was really enjoying it. My husband’s condition was starting to worsen, so I bought a watercolour for beginners book and worked through it with the paints we had been given. After lockdown, I looked for a nearby art class and found one at our local golf club and signed up. At the time, my husband was able to play golf thanks to a very kind group of his golf buddies, while I was up on the clubhouse. The course covered something different every week and suddenly I was part of a mixed ability group of like minded people and a very good teacher. But, and here’s the thing, as soon as we did some drawing work with coloured pencils, I realised that this was what I had enjoyed as a child and that I could happily spend hours doing it. I searched online for colour pencil artists and found Bonny and a lady in Australia who specialised in animal portraits. I did her basic course with very pleasing results, and then signed up to coloured pencils week with Bonny, which I also loved. I signed up to Ignite and the rest is history. My husband’s condition became violent and so is is in a home for dementia, where he is being well cared for and where I can visit him regularly. I now have time most days to draw and am producing some very pleasing pieces. I am just at the stage where I have been critiqued by other artists, who say my work is beautiful and shows a keen eye for detail and colour, but above all, a love of what I am doing. So thank you Bonny for helping me to rediscover my childhood pleasure and giving me the confidence to continue my journey.
Natacha Rodiac
I used to draw with coloured pencils when I was a little girl with my grand father who loved drawing ! Then as a teenager I stopped because the Beaux-arts school told me I was no good...I took my pencils back again during lockdown more than 30 years later, because I missed my grandpa and because I thought : the hell with what other think...I loved it so much and I miss it...I never stopped drawing ever since
Social media: @natachasart
Suzzie Blair
I’ve always been creative with making things like knitting crocheting etc but because of work duties i never had the time to do these. when i was 46 i developed Colitis and writhing 18 months had to have an Ileostomy stoma to save my life. For a lot of people having a stoma can fully give them their life back, unfortunately , mines been a right pain and I was u able to get back to work or have an active life . After about a year my daughter encouraged me to start my crafts again as I felt so low and lonely as everyone else my age was working and living. These crafts really helped me , but i must admit after 10 years I was becoming very bored doing these , but im one of those people who can’t sit and do nothing. In July 24 I fell broke and dislocated my left wrist. I did such a good job I was unable to use this arm at all. i was so bored I had to think of something I could do one handed. One thing i’ve never been able to do is draw and was so jealous of my husband and daughter who could . I tried a few times and yes it was rubbish so i gave up . So in August 24 I bought a How to draw book of Amazon , some graphite pencils and a sketch pad and was determined I would learn how to do this. How amazed was I that i could actually do this with some guidance. I realised all the other times I had tried I gave up far to early in the rubbish stage not realising this is part of the process ! Even was my arm healed the old crafts hardly got a look in . I found when I draw i become so relaxed, the pains from my health conditions doesn’t go, but also doesn’t become the main focus of my mind. whilst scrolling on Social Media I came across the drawing Bonny did of the little girl with the daffodils , I could not believe someone could draw so well it looked like a photo ! So I bought some coloured pencils and carried on drawing as best I could . Christmas 24 I drew all my family and friends a Christmas Card . The feedback I had from this totally blew me away. I’ve never had confidence and never put myself in the centre of attention as i’m dyslexic and quite shy. But the feedback from family and friends was something I had never experienced. where had all this come from ? How could I draw like this and never know? ! I wonder what my life would have been if I had found this when I was young ? Over Christmas I joined Bonny’s draw along and totally feel in love with how she teaches the way my brain likes , So I joined Ignite in January 25 another massive step for me. from here I began to share my drawings on my Social media and again the feedback I began to receive totally blew me away . I noticed I was changing as a person. I would talk about what I was doing and drawing as much as my health will let me. Then I decided as my personal Social Media was just being used to share my drawing I decided to get my daughter to help me open an instagram page to share my art. art_by_suzzie_b. from this I have been asked to draw a few pets for friends and a very personal drawing of a friend and her husbands hands. They absolutely loved what I did for them , my confidence is really growing and it’s nice to know that I can do something so personal for people. I’ve even submitted work to a competitions , yes I didn’t get selected to show my work , but that didn’t bother me at all , progress was putting myself forward. Now i’ve even started to draw things without the tutorials. i’m so lucky I have a brother who is a fantastic wildlife photographer who has let me use what I like of his work. Drawing has totally changed me as a person , I feel like a flower coming to life . yes i’m now 60 so a late flower but im blooming. I do wish I had found this love much earlier, but i’m so pleased i broke my arm as i don’t think i would have ever had the confidence to try drawing again because of previous attempts . I’ve even had the confidence to just start getting some of my art copied at the printers and i’m just building to confidence to start to try and sell some of my drawings . I really think I broke my arm to be able to find this new love . which has and continues to change me into the best space ever.
Social Media: Facebook Artistic Inspirations
Jana Gale Connell
I've been an Artist all of my life. I grew up around art, and everyone in my family does (or did) some form of art. I started painting in oils when I was very young but won awards in elementary school for my paintings. However, art was never encouraged as a way to make a living, and I knew I was meant to work with animals. I did a lot of personal commissions during the years I worked as a Veterinary Technician and people used to stop me in stores and ask me if I still did my art, but sadly I had to say no. I used to have one-woman shows and sold a lot of art in the 80s and 90s. I stopped drawing and painting somewhere around 1993 after years of being harassed by my then-husband. He was not who he pretended to be when we married. He built me a little shed with windows in 1986 when I was pregnant (I'd had my tubes tied in 1981-ya right?) and that became my studio. Boiling hot in summer and freezing in the winter. It was 15 feet from the corner of my trailer so I often looked out the window and saw my 7 year old son crying his eyes out because he was being tortured for no reason by this man. So of course I stopped working and went in to find out why he was crying.... I was working full time as a Veterinary Technician (nurse to you Brits) and the only day I could get any work done in that studio was Saturday morning, sometimes Sunday afternoons. I would get up at 7 am and go out there, just get started on a painting or drawing and I'd hear- coming from the front door- ARE YOU GOING TO COME IN HERE AND FEED THESE KIDS? My daughter was about 5-6 by this time and so I would put my stuff away with a sigh and go in the house. He refused to feed them, refused to cook anything at all. This actually started once my daughter was around 2- so 1989 and kept up until I threw him out of the house in 1994. By then however, every time I'd step foot in that studio I got sick to my stomach from being conditioned (I guess) that it was not my safe place anymore. Now the abuse was everyday not just when I wanted to draw. My art and I become more and more estranged and the studio became a storage barn. In 2015 my son (age 35 by then) needed a place to stay with his gf and my grandson so they cleaned out the entire shed, covered the contents with tarps and moved in. After they left in 2016 I moved all of my yarn out there but couldn't find my art supplies at all. I had a small room in the trailer full of more stuff from out there and I guess that's where they were. Some where in a place I could access. I tried drawing again in 2020 (almost 26 years after I quit drawing) and did some turkey feathers in a vase, but my heart was still not in it. I had therapy for my PTSD from almost being killed by my first husband three times and the abuse (mental and emotional) from the second one but meditation is what finally saved me from the past. I started meditating in Feb of 2016 because my son was just as abusive to me as his father had been because he is an alcoholic like his dad. After they left I regained my peace and quiet. In June of 2024, Bonny had a free colored pencil workshop that I decided to join on a whim. I went out to the garden and took pictures of my yellow rose buds and started one in a sketchbook. On the break half way through, I looked at my art and and thought, oh my, I can still draw!! I was truly giddy with happiness! 30 years after not drawing a thing, I could still draw!! I longed to join Ignite but it was beyond my reach economically. I was telling a friend who lives far away about it and sent her the drawing I did, and she gifted me the money to join for the first year!!! I had to scramble the second year, but I have love it so much and Bonny's kindness has truly re-ignited my love for my own art, for drawing again and all things ART!! I used to dream of painting for years, now I can tackle it again. I took the last workshop wildlife artist Robert Bateman ever gave in 1991 and he told us to call ourselves Artists with a capital A, not wildlife artists (which is what I considered myself then). But Bonny's gentle encouragements, her willingness to be open and vulnerable, and hearing her own story really has been a healing balm not just to my soul, but so many others in here whose stories I read. I am going to be 71 on Dec 6th and I can truly say that they ONLY regret I have is wasting all those years that I didn't do any art at all. I don't dwell on it though, I just sit down and pick up my NEW polychromos or Derwent pencils that I buy a few at a time when money lets me. I am now disabled and even dealing with macular degeneration, but I teach other Vet Techs part time in the fall and spring which helps with $$. Social Security isn't much as I was never paid well as a Technician. No matter, I am using my old Crescent illustration boards and all the old stuff I had carefully packed away!! Thank you Bonny from the very depths of this old Artists heart. I pray that someday I will meet you in person and give you the longest hug ever.
Website: https://www.indigomoonarts.com/
Social Media: https://askthevettech.com/ https://www.instagram.com/vet_tech_4_ever/
Chantal
My Discovery of Drawing After Illness At 71, before my breast cancer in 2022, I had never held a pencil for anything other than writing. Everything changed when I took part in a painting workshop at a rehabilitation center for people with cancer in Ottignies, Belgium. This experience gave me a taste for watercolor, an art as fascinating as it is technically demanding. I quickly realized that to paint, you first have to learn to draw. So, I took graphite pencil drawing classes for a year. Then I discovered Bonny, and it was a revelation: I became passionate about colored pencil drawing. 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.
Social Media: Chantal Willens
Kaz
I took Art as a GCSE at school and was very good at it but like many other things I didnt feel i could ever make a career out of it. I loved the way it made me feel. The emotion it evoked and the beauty of just being able to switch off all of the negative thoughts that consumed my teenage brain. I left school and went to university to train to be a teacher and just became busy and lost touch with my creative side. I went on to start working in special educational needs, had my own children and life became super demanding. In the hustle and bustle of life I started to feel like I had lost my spark and didnt really know who I am anymore. Then a year into buying our own home we had a huge flood that destroyed our home. We had to move out of our home and into my partners brothers home who also has a wife and 3 children of his own. All of a sudden there were 9 of us living under one roof with 5 children under 10 years old. It is tremendously difficult to live in someone elses home and to be able to settle enough to make it your own home. I had to find something to distract my mind and that is when i picked up a paintbrush and started dabbling with acrylic paints. I discovered I was still very good at being creative. I also rediscovered the beauty of just getting lost in something you are doing. The feeling of pride and accomplishment when completing something that you have made with your own hands. I started to get requests from friends to paint things for them and I did some charity paintings amd auctioned them for a local special educational needs children charity. I then discovered bonny snowdon academy and began drawing with colour pencils. A whole new medium and way of working but still felt the immense passion to create and immediate release of negative emotions whilst in the midst of drawing. Whilst I have not made anything of finding this passion again. I am so immensly grateful to have found my love of being creative again. I hope to be in a space one day to have rediscovered the spark that I know is buried somewhere deep in my heart. I just need to find the confidence and allow myself to shine
Social Media: Kazza Art
Diane Simmons
Art was a significant part of my childhood. From drawing things for my friends to creating gifts for family members, it was clear this was my passion, and I was determined to pursue it. So, as I grew, and my art skills continued to improve, majoring in Art in college was a logical step for me. I started at UCLA Art School and transitioned to UC Santa Barbara, where I was admitted to an elite art school of only 12 students. Art for me at that time was only graphite, charcoal, or oil paints. Unfortunately, when I was 18, one of my professors had a conversation with me that changed my trajectory. I was the only realism artist in the school, and he told me that I was out of touch and needed to study in Europe if I wanted to progress in art. I couldn’t fathom going to Europe by myself at that age, and so I put my art aside, feeling any further progress in art was no longer attainable. I was married at age 22 and started a family. With three children active in sports and other activities, my days were full. The only art I did during those years was art that the kids might need for a school project.
This all changed when, many years later, my daughter told me she was going to pay someone on Etsy to draw her cats for my new granddaughter's nursery. I quickly reminded her that I was an artist and was up for the task. I immediately went to a local art store to buy supplies. I first considered oil paints, but decided that was too daunting for my first project in 40 years, so I opted for pastel sticks. As I worked on the project, I found the pastel sticks too bulky and unable to produce fine detail. They were also almost as messy as oil paints, so I put my newly acquired tools away yet again.
A couple of years later, in 2018, my son unexpectedly passed away. He was also an artistic person and loved art. I found that, suddenly, I had a desire to sit and draw in his honor. But, from my prior attempt to get back into art, I knew I didn’t want to use pastel. I began to investigate and stumbled onto teaching about colored pencils from Lisa Watkins. It was through this that I learned how to layer, blend, and get fine details on the top. Then, I found Bonny Snowdon’s community. I have since found so many other colored pencil artists that are willing to share tips and ideas. It’s a wonderful community.
Sitting for hours and meditating on the magnificent colors that are found in God’s creation fills me with awe. It’s through this that I found a way to cope with the difficulty of losing my son and also regained my passion for art. At first, I found colored pencil so slow. I started doing colored pencil drawings but using pastels for the backgrounds. However, through this process, I soon learned to embrace the slowness as a gift. Now, I use 100% colored pencil on most of my work. I take my time and concentrate on the beauty of each subject. I’m still amazed at the many colors in people and animals. It has allowed me to see the reward in the slow process. Seeing a piece come to life gradually is now enjoyable for me. I used to think that if my calendar was not booked with commissions, that I was a failure. But, now I create what inspires me, I take my time in enjoying the beauty in creation, and commissions are simply a bonus.
In college, my friends would ask me why I stared at things. It was because I was always thinking of how I would render that subject. Now, I am back to staring, but this time I’m admiring the beauty of God’s handiwork and deciding if the best pencil to use would be Caput Mortem Violet or Burnt Sienna.
Through my journey, I've learned an important truth: I didn't need to go to Europe to study art after all. I simply needed to embrace the beauty of God's creation and use each stroke of my pencil to bring him glory.
Website: https://www.animalcreationsbydiane.com/
Elizabeth
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.
Website: https://despitepain.com
Elise Richey
I restarted drawing in 2016. I still had 6 years until retirement but felt the need to produce art. My career as a Digital Prepress Specialist (a fancy title for making deadlines in the printing business) was not inspiring anymore. I had no ambitions at work anymore, climbing the ladder to success was over, coming up against a 90% male workforce was wearing me down. Suddenly I unconsciously began making pet portraits again (I had drawn them way back after graduation from art school when I secured my first job as a designer of greeting cards. With no marriage and kids then, it allowed me the time for drawing) and began searching for drawing lessons on YouTube. Back in 2016, the wealth of art instruction was so inspirational for me and I devoured it, finding Bonny along the way. Suddenly, I was fulfilled with making portraits and my weekends became MY art time. I was born into a loving family back in 1956. My twin sister and I joined two older sisters and two very creative parents who were always involved in painting, building furniture, antiquing and gardening. Creativity abounded even though all of the ordinary stresses of everyday life were present. My twin and I had to see our father die early of heart disease and then see our mother deal with Alzheimer’s. In addition to that both of our sisters died early. My marriage ended and I raised my two children as a single parent. But, when I took up producing art again in 2016, I didn’t know it would become so fulfilling and give me hours of unstressful bliss. When my twin and I retired at our jobs in 2021, I stepped up my time at my art desk. 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.
Vickie Cordery
I was a stay at home mum for ten years, staying home for my neurodivergent son. I felt i had lost “me” and needed something for myself. After finding my 30yr old watercolour paints in the garage, I thought art would be a good hobby to get back into. (I hadn’t done any art since doing my A levels in 1992). I had been following Bonny Snowden on socials for a couple of months when I saw the ad for coloured pencil week 2024. Coloured pencil week had me hooked and I am working on my coloured pencil skills and doing requests and the odd commission for friends and family.
Sarah Hemsley
Art was never a focus at my school but I have always been creative, making my own clothes as a teenager, attending cake decorating classes in my twenties and thirties and baking for family and friends. Then a while ago I attended watercolour art classes for four years. I could not get the detail that I wanted with this medium so, when in June 2023, I found Bonny on line with her coloured pencils I just knew this was for me! It has helped me through the passing of both my parents within the last two years as well as other things that happen in life. My art has been life changing, giving me confidence and belief in myself in so many ways. It is something just for me with, I have to say, some amazingly positive comments from family and friends plus Ignite members when I have posted a drawing. To date I have drawn many of Bonny's tutorials, our family dogs and some pets as gifts for friends. I was very fortunate to grow up on a farm in Kent with crops, cattle, sheep, ponies, dogs and cats and have always absolutely loved all wildlife and nature, so this is heaven for me being able to draw them. I am having a website built as a wildlife and pet portrait artist - I never in a million years thought I would do this! This journey not only gives me so much but also gives me huge pleasure to see the joy that my drawings bring to others. A huge thank you to Bonny for setting me on this wonderfully creative journey!
Social Media: sarahghemsleyart
Shauna Lee
I have been doing art since 1st grade when my teacher told my mother I was the only one who combined colors and shading in circles. My father was an artist and my whole family was fairly artistic. My father said when he passed he wished someone would follow his footsteps, but no one in the family wanted to but me. So I did. 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.
Julie
I never did Art at school my step Gran was a teacher & she had a pupil that was brilliant at drawing birds he used to visit & show me his drawings I was in ore of them but just couldn’t seem to to draw I could copy cartoon characters but that was all. My step gran was so disappointed with me. So I gave up completely & felt like a failure. My love for animals & horses continued when I went on to become a veterinary nurse. Latter years I married a farmer & had 3 girls when the youngest two were 6 months old & two & the eldest was 10 my husband who I had been with for 20 years left us & went off with my friend. I had to give up everything & to try & keep our life similar for the girls I had to move from near Badminton to South Wales. I moved away not knowing anyone down there. I remember the day of the move we all bundled in the horse box with 1 horse 1 pony 3 dogs & 3 cats. To start a new life. Eventually I sadly lost both my parents to cancer & looked after my mum at home travelling back to England to look after her. That took me into a full time job of elderly care which I loved. I remember saying one day to an elderly gentleman who I cared for wish I was good at something he said you are. But I meant creatively. One day I was looking after a wonderful lady who was only 6 years older than me she was at the last stages of dementia she didn’t speak & after doing personal care & feeding her lunch she would go to sleep in the afternoons. I was allowed to read or whatever. This was the first time I took a pad of paper & started to draw birds with pastels which I really enjoyed. Even though family was saying it was good I still felt I was useless & could do better. Then sadly she passed away & I got taken into hospital with gall bladder problems & ended up having it taken out this was December 2023. It was upon convalescing that I discovered Bonny on the internet. I joined the ignite & learnt so much still loads more to learn but it was the first time I felt good about myself had a bit more confidence & was pleased with my drawings. Hopefully my step gran is looking down on me & would approve of my drawings. But how strange since being in ignite I haven’t as yet drawn any birds! Thank you from the bottom of my heart to make me feel human again. I can relate to your story because I can imagine what you went through but we can’t see it at the time but we become stronger women after it all.
David Stockford
My discovery was during COVID lockdown down. I remember at school being told I could not take art as a subject because it clashes with technical drawing classrs. I was gutted but had thought I wanted to be a draughtsman. Turned out I joined the Navy but that's another story. So COVID. I first started ink pen drawing and found I had the skill, I then tried water colour and took some classes and was progressing nicely when I came across Bonny Snowdon on line. I then started colour pencil and found I had a flair for drawing with colour pencil. This led to joining the academy and I haven't looked back since. There have been some tough times in my life recently which took away my mojo for drawing. Recently I installed the spark app and thise daily prompts helped me to get back to thinking about me and putting aside time to draw again.
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DSYmuYCkb/
Natacha Rodiac
I used to draw with coloured pencils when I was a little girl with my grand father who loved drawing ! Then as a teenager I stopped because the Beaux-arts school told me I was no good...I took my pencils back again during lockdown more than 30 years later, because I missed my grandpa and because I thought : the hell with what other think...I loved it so much and I miss it...I never stopped drawing ever since. Creativity gave me a space to breath, away from the difficulties and the noises of life and it opened a door to a change of life I didn't even realised I needed
Social Media: @natachasart
