Hello, I'm Bonny Snowdon, ex-corporate person and mother turned successful artist entrepreneur. It wasn't that long ago though that I lacked the confidence, vision, and support network to focus on growing my dream business. Fast forward past many life curve balls, waves of self-doubt, and so many lessons learned. And you'll see Ignite, my thriving online coloured pencils artist community. A community that changes members' lives for the better, and gives me freedom to live abundantly whilst doing what I love and spending quality time with my beloved family and dogs, all whilst creating my best artwork with coloured pencils and mentoring others to do the same.
But this life wasn't always how it was for me. It used to only exist in my imagination. I've created the, It's a Bonny Old Life podcast to help increase people's confidence, share mine and my community's experience, and hope through fascinating personal stories, champion the other amazing humans in my personal, professional, and membership community, and create another channel through which I can support others to realize their dreams.
If you're a passionate coloured pencil artist or an aspiring one who's looking to create their best work and a joyful life you love, you're in the right place. Grab a cup and a custard cream. Let's get cracking.
Welcome to another monthly roundup, and this month is January, our first month of the new year, and it's been incredibly busy. We've done loads and loads of stuff. I've done loads of stuff. The people who are helping me around me have done loads of stuff.
We relaunched the academy at the beginning of the year and we've had the most am amazing response. As always. We've taken on another, oh gosh, I think there's about just short of 800 new members, which is incredible. All of those people are starting to become more creative, developing their work, maybe starting to think of building a creative business. And it's absolutely fantastic to be able to be helping and supporting all of these people through that. It is just wonderful.
We've done all sorts of different things. I've got a list down here in my writing. I probably won't even be able to read it, but I've got a list.
I started my next big tutorial, which honestly I am really, really excited about. It's a wolf. It's 50 by 35 centimeters, so it's big. It's half a sheet of pastelmat on that for coloured pencil, you know, and I'm doing the background and everything. That is quite a big piece. The brilliant thing about this tutorial is that I am not, I'm only using coloured pencils, so I'm not bringing in any indenting methods or oms or pan anything. I don't use pastels or pan pastels anyway, but I'm not using anything other than my pencils and my kneadable eraser. I'm not using a slice tool, not doing anything, anything like that. So it's purely pencil work. It's huge. It's complicated.
The reason it's complicated is because of all of the different fur types that are in the wolf. So you've got fluffy ears, you've then got a much smoother nose. You've then got different fluffy around the neck area. It's, and then we've got the background as well. So I've got that, that going on. I've got probably a third of it done, which I need to get my finger out. We've got the wolf done.
We have, oh, we finished the ear. We started and finished human ear in Art club. Quite funny actually. So we, I started it with the intention of using probably about 15 colours, something like that. And I was going to do it as my normal kind of tutorial. So, you know, we draw it and we, you know, we, we pick up all of the colours and we do it sort of step by step. Initially, I, I, there's method, well, there isn't method in my madness in this.
Initially, I'd sized it on in Photoshop. I hadn't got my tape measure. I was thinking, oh yeah, that'll be fine. Well, this ear was like this big. It was huge. It was absolutely huge. And the morning of the, of the art club when we first started, I printed it out and I was like, flipping heck.
That's massive. It's like a big elephant ear. And I was like, oh gosh, we can't, we can't draw it this size. So I reduced it and I said, I'm so sorry everybody we're gonna have to do. So it was kind of e size.
Well, what a brilliant, brilliant session that was. It took us two weeks. We ended up using two, three pencils. Well, the first week we used two pencils. We used the Warm Earth 40 and in the Luminance range, and we used Mars Black in the Lightfast range. And then the following week we brought a little bit of yellows and pinks and blues and stuff in. So it was just more about glazing the colour in over the top.
But the first week was all about values and just using one pencil really to get all of those values in. And when you are looking at a human ear, there's lots of sort of dips and curves and roundy bits and, and it was really, really fun. And the subjects that have come through are just the, the results are brilliant. So we did that over two weeks, which was really fun.
We just started our last week, we started our new art club piece, a big piece. It's probably gonna take about eight or nine weeks, I think. Bearing in mind we draw for two weeks on a Tuesday. I had the biggest amount of members join me last Tuesday as well. I think we had about 140 people drawing live in the art club, which is amazing. And we're drawing a cavalier in Charles. It's a beautiful, beautiful little dog. We've done the eyes. And we're then going to be, tomorrow, we're then going to be starting on the, on the fur, which we're using drafting film. So we're gonna be using a lot of subtraction techniques, Tomboy eraser, slice tool that kind of thing.
So that's really, really exciting. And I'm really, I think a subject like that in art club where we're all drawing together. It allows people to really ask those questions that if you are in a tutorial and you're just following a tutorial, you know, you might email and you say, well, I'm struggling with this, that, and the other. But if you're drawing live, you really do have that opportunity to ask these questions, you know, if you're struggling with something. So that's amazing doing that.
Oh, I have the most fantastic business drop-in session last week. So, and I've also done quite a few different podcasts as well. Recently. One of the podcasts I put out was around limiting beliefs.
And we all have limiting beliefs, whatever it is that we do, we all have these beliefs that we have either believed since childhood or we've picked up along the way. That basically stops us from doing things. And one of the main, or one of my main limiting beliefs has been in the past that my face doesn't fit the norm in social media.
You have to look a certain way on social media. And of course, that's completely rubbish. So this last, this month's business drop-in was around how to build your confidence in showing your face on social media. When you are building your business, it's really, really important to be able to show your face, but show it authentically. Don't, not trying to be something you are not. Not, not feeling you have to get all dressed up and glamorous and quaffed and all of that kind of thing. You really don't.
So that was really good. So I shared some tips on, you know, making yourself feel comfortable. And the interesting thing was the, and people were doing this in the session, we had quite a few people in the session.
What makes me feel really comfortable, like I could almost say anything and do anything, is if I've got an animal on my knee, so either a dog's head, one of the big dogs, I could just be, have, have their head there and stroke them, I feel more comfortable. I feel more at home. I could have little door or on my knee, you know, and then kind of stroking her again, that stroking it makes, it puts you in that lovely place, cat, something like that. And so many of my members are sitting there when we do these sessions with a cat or a dog or, you know, and it makes us feel so much more comfortable.
If you are struggling to put your face on social media and you really want to show your face on social media, my biggest suggestion to get yourself started is to take a selfie with your dog. If you've got a dog or, or your cat or your horse, it then becomes much, much nicer, much easier to share as well. So we did that on the session, which was great.
And then our confidence session in the Ignite membership was all around goal setting for 2023. And I think I, I think I freaked everybody out. I, I do slides and stuff, and then we, we kind of discussed things, but I said, right, and I put the smart goals down, you know, specific, measurable, all that, that kind of stuff. And I, I could see people's eyes going, you know, and I was like, that is what you get if you're in a corporate setting, that is what you would be looking at these smart goals.
Well, I don't set goals like that. I mean, obviously we need to have them specific and measurable and everything, but I set my goals using formulas that are much more them, much more creative, you know, so I use an awful lot of writing in the past tense as if I've actually hit a goal, as if I've actually got to the point where it's happened and I'm really excited about it. I found that really, really, really useful. Our brain doesn't really know what's real and what's not. Well, it doesn't know what's real and what's not, you know, so if you continually tell it something that you write in the past tense as if you've actually done it, you'll, you can actually start to believe that it's, that it's happened. We'll know that that works.
You know, I, I'll, I'll go for a dog walk and I'll start, I'll start telling myself stories about things. We'll have a dream. You'll wake up in the middle of that famous, that famous friend's, friend's episode where, where, where Paula is it, I think it's, I think it's Ross and, and he's in trouble because, because Phoebe's had a dream. And she like, she's like really cross with him because she's had this dream about Ross and he's com completely not true, but her mind has made it seem as if it's true. So that's what we were talking about in our confidence session, which was, which was amazing.
Creating plans for 2023, which, you know, plans are, plans are fantastic. We need to set plans, we need to set goals, but we don't want to be rigid. We don't want to end up thinking, oh, I haven't, I haven't got my, you know, I haven't reached my goal or anything that, that they're flexible. We can move things around and they're very fluid.
So I've also done, done a thing, oh, it was very exciting. I was asked to be on one of my business idols. James Wedmore invited me to be a, a, what was it? A, it was on his business by design live session that he ran over two days, two days, three days. And I was asked to be the, on the building, the social media platform. I'm just trying to think of the actual word that it was, but I was sort of like the expert in building social numbers, building social channels. And that was an absolute honour to be on that. It really, really was a fantastic, you know, bit scary sitting there looking, sitting there in my studio. You see my dogs behind. And then I'm on with these two other guys who look so professional and they've got their head and shoulders and they're, you know, they're playing background and I've got my little chair and a dog here and a dog there.
But I've had such lovely feedback about it. I think, again, you know, just going on and going, you know, yeah, I've, I have grown my social media, you know, it's not, not bad sizes at all. And I have grown my business amazingly in the last 16 months. It's been fantastic. And sitting there, just being a, a normal, normally me, you know, sharing that story. I've got, I've had so many people message me and just say, you know, it, it was just so nice to see somebody talking about that. The other guys were amazing. They really, really were. I was sitting there and one of them had a presentation. I was like, oh my God, he has got a presentation. He looks so professional, he really knows what he's talking about. And there's me sat there with my dogs. So that was funny.
And then I have invested again in myself and my business in taking on a next level business program, which I'm really, really excited. A lot of coaching, a lot of group work, really taking my business to the next level. This is something that I like to do a lot. I've always invested in me and I've al you know, and in a, in my business as well, always done that. I think for me, having these goals to set myself is incredibly important, you know, and I want to be able to sort of take my business further and further.
We had the most lovely meeting and I met the lovely Emma from IDAs, the independent domestic abuse services, which was so, so nice to meet her and wanting to do quite a few things for the charity this year. I, I contribute on a, a regular basis. I donate on a regular basis. So I donated for their big Christmas giveaway, which enabled them to, I think they, they made, or they, yeah, I think it was 17,000 that they were able to, to make in a, in a month, something like that with donations. And then they, they had it doubled or something. So that was really brilliant to be a part of that.
And then I, I, I have a monthly donation that I give to them anyway, and this year I'm, we are looking to do an auction, so we need to, you know, keep your eyes peeled about that. We're looking at that at the moment, how we're going to run that, and how it's going to, where it's going to be held and all of that kind of thing.
Raising money purely for the independent domestic abuse services, which is based in York. So it's very close to me and, and obviously very close to my heart. And so that's gonna be amazing. An auction of all of the pieces that are sat in my drawers, drawers in my, the drawers in my studio, you know, that I, I work on.
And then I don't really sell, sometimes I sell my pieces, but I don't do a big hard sell on selling my pieces. So this is gonna be a really, really fantastic opportunity to be able to people to be able to buy my pieces for, for a really good cause. And then the other thing that I'm going to be doing as well is I will be having,
I think we've decided to do five for the moment scholarships. So five scholarships to the academy that the charity will, they will choose the people. So the people who have internet connection and who have a, a want to do art. These are people who have like, had to leave their homes and, you know, going to secure housing, all of that kind of thing.
They will have the op opportunity, well, they'll, they'll have a full year's membership and they'll also supplying all of the equipment. So all of the pencils, all of the paper, all of the tools, they'll just get a whole package. So they'll be able to be creative and join in if they wish to. Which that, that for me is really, really exciting. You know, the thinking that you've, you've had to leave your home, you've had to get away from your home, you know, if you've got children or if you're on your own, anybody who has to leave their home because of domestic violence is, is, is horrific, is absolutely horrific. And if I can do a little tiny bit to help somebody feel a little bit better about things, then that, that's, that's wonderful.
And you know, the other thing as well is Creativity is so brilliant for disappearing. You know, the world is scary. And if you can get into that mindset every now and again, even if it's just for five minutes, it's wonderful just to disappear from all of the horror that's going around. So I'm very, very excited about that.
Oh, I'm gonna start coughing now and then I think that's, I think that's about it. We, I had to update my poor old Mac this year. It's basically been on for seven years. I bought it in 20 20, 20 17 on, for six years. In 2017, I bought it and it worked so hard. It's all day every day. It's working, it's doing something. And the poor thing just started to really just give up the ghost. So I've had to, I've had to invest in a, in a new Mac, which is, which is really exciting. But it's a bit disconcerting because the new screens, the new apple screens, they have this wide screen thing and they follow you around. So if I move over here, the screen moves over here, it moves over here, and I'm like, what's happening? If the dog moves, the screen moves, so it's all a little bit woo, but, but it means that I can do my work a little bit quicker. It's quite a speedy one. So that's, you know, that's pretty good.
One of the things that I'm hoping to do in 2023 is to completely re reimagine, redo all of my studio equipment, camera lighting. How I record my podcasts microphones as I've got it at the moment is, is great, but actually it's not the best quality. And I, and I want to kind of have a look at updating all of that equipment where I can, my little camera's not so bad, but, you know, I need to get some proper studio lighting. I need to get a microphone. That really does cut out any noise around me. I don't wanna get a recording studio. I did think about a recording studio, but you just have to sit in this sort of very claustrophobic space and it's not something I want to do. So yeah, so that's a, that's a big goal for 2023.
We are about to launch our Ignite Members' first Exhibition, which is very exciting. On the 1st of February, we're going to be sending links and everything like that. That's part of the Academy now having an, an Exhibition every three months. And we've got all sorts of new things coming in the Academy as well.
Again, really, really exciting. So I've got some new courses that we've been, I've just had today's planning session today for 2023. We've been looking at some new courses that I'm really excited about. I know I mentioned before about some marketing stuff and also a mastermind. They're still, I'm, I'm kind of really mulling over how I'm going to work those and how they're going to, how they're going to appear and, and how we're going to offer them. But yeah, some really, really exciting things. So, yeah, so that's about it, really brilliant month work-wise.
I've had some slowed down a little bit due to sort of some family bits and pieces. But yeah, it's been super busy again and yeah, looking forward to doing lots and lots and lots of drawing in February, which is my happy place. It's where it is where I need to go. It's what I need to do to recuperate and refraction, regenerate.
So my opportunity, I guess to say, I dunno whether I said Happy New Year, but happy New Year anyway, even though it's the, the end of January, really looking forward to 2023 and what's coming up. And, and I'll see you all very soon.
I really hope you enjoyed listening to this episode of my, It's A Bonny Old Life podcast. If you did, I'd be so grateful to you for emailing me or texting a link to the show or sharing it on social media with those you know, who might like it too. My mission with this podcast is all about sharing mine and my community's experience and hope by telling your fascinating personal stories, championing the other amazing humans in my personal, professional, and membership community, and to create another channel through which I can support you to realize your coloured pencil and life dreams.
If you haven't done so yet, please help me on my mission to spread positivity and joy throughout the Coloured Pencil world by following me on my socials at Bonny Snowdon Academy or by getting on my list at bonnysnowdonacademy.com. And remember, I truly believe if I can live the life of my dreams doing what I love, then you can too. We just need to keep championing and supporting each other along the way in order to make it happen. Till next time.
