Noreen
I started drawing again as a reward for finishing my degree for work and a stress relief for a harrowing time our community was going through. I drew cartoons, one of which was taken up by another artist for a cover for a recipe book we sold to raise funds to fight our cause. The next recipe book cover had my own drawing on it.
Gail
I have been buying pencil, paints, canvas boards for many years planning to be creative by painting, drawing once I retire. Then 12 months ago I discovered you on You Tube and thought I would like to have a go. I started with a leather tutorial and I have been hooked ever since. I have been purchasing pencils Faber Castell, Luminance and Caran d'Ache Pablos as well as many drawing paper mediums to further my skills level.
Social Media: Facebook: Gail N Steve Ikin
Jane Southey
All my life I wished I could draw but I couldn't. I surrounded myself with art supplies and projects of all kinds thinking I might become artistic by osmosis! I also had never found anything I was passionate about. My creative emergence started with photography which I loved but I thought it was maybe a medium for people like me who couldn't draw. I started colouring, much like Bonny, then started to teach myself to draw. Out of the blue "Coloured Pencil Week" popped up in my e-mail. It arrived in my inbox at a time when I was thinking about what my next challenge would be (I drew only in graphite). I signed up for the week and I was hooked. I found out I could draw after all and moreover, I could draw in colour. The satisfaction of creating something beautiful cannot be rivalled. I have found my passion finally at the age of 64! I would credit my photography teacher for opening the creative door for me and Bonny for pushing me through it.
Marilu Murphy
I always drew and it was always horses. When I was about 7, I drew my first mural across the width of my bedroom wall. It was a desert scene with cowboys galloping their horses across the cactus riddled sand dunes. It must’ve been okay because I didn’t get in trouble for it. When I was 12, I painted with oils, a still life using a colourful table cloth as my inspiration. I carried on painting with oils as a teenager, again attacking another wall with a mural of “Teaser and the FireCat” taken from an album by a well known musician, Cat Stevens. I carried on with my art studies in highschool and enjoyed every minute. 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. I am an ADHD’r, I need stimulation and excitement, YOU provide everything that I need to be a success. I so enjoy being part of ALL of this, all of you!! feel so very very special. Thank you ❤️
Barbara Pezze
During Covid, I was trying to find a hobby since I was newly retired. I tried acrylic paints but didn’t care for the medium. I bought some charcoal pencils and drew our dog, Pfred. I did it free hand and my husband was so impressed that he encouraged me to continue drawing. As I did more research on techniques, I discovered Bonny’s Ignite and joined as soon as the membership opened in April of 2023. I am amazed at what I have been able to draw since then and am passionate to draw every day now!
Website: https://www.barbarapezze.com
Social Media: @barbpezze
Joan Janvier
I have spent my whole life trying creative things, mainly self taught due to money restrictions. 18 months ago I spotted your Coloured Pencil site and tried the Otter. I knew immediately I had found, at the age of 75, the medium that I had been searching for. I tried to go solo and draw my Dog, Rosie which everyone politely said was good but which I knew wasn't. I joined Ignite in May 24 and haven't looked back. Since then I have redrawn Rosie and people say it looks like a photo. My next challenge was my granddaughters horse which I never dreamt possible. I have found my happy place when drawing.
Dave McNeilly
Started drawing in 2019 just using graphite pencils but couldnt get to draw actual realism Until i found you bonny on u tube it inspired me to get more creative. Then i joined your academy and have never looked back.
Social Media: facebook.com/Davemcn
Jordan
I have always loved colour and being creative, but I wanted to learn to draw freehand and become really artistic. One Christmas, my mum bought me a lot of drawing things to help me, but I really lacked confidence. I did one thing I thought was okay but it wasn't brilliant. So it all kind of got forgotten about. A few years later, I found paint by numbers (which I've wanted to for many years but couldn't find them for adults), I found myself doing them in the evenings when the children had gone to bed to help me unwind. Earlier this year, I then started seeing colouring posts on Facebook using alcohol markers, so bought a few sets and some books and did colouring (I had my third child in October 2024, so he was only a few months old) so needed something I could do that I could put away easily - with PBN it wasn't so easy. I then saw an advert on Facebook for another artist using coloured pencils and signed up to their emails, but barely even read them. I just didn't trust I could do anything, so didn't feel they were going to be all that helpful. I then saw Bonny's free fox cub which was a beautiful picture and I thought I'd have a go. I set an alarm to remember the sessions and I then drew the fox, which started off well as I was following Bonny - although using sketchbook paper and cheap pencils, I then thought I could finish it on my own and the body wasn't great! But it sparked something in me. I then joined Bonny's CP week and absolutely fell in love. I have produced so many things I am incredibly proud of, things I can believe I have drawn. I have suffered depression, and had lots of personal and health issues in the last few years making me feel so down. I'd watch TV when the kids had gone to bed, or read a book but I often felt bored. Finding coloured pencils has turned my feelings of living in a shell into real joy and confidence. I am a much happier person. I've sat with my girls (8 and 6) and drawn things with them and we've created lovely memories being arty together - before it was me just sat with them, but now it's something we all love doing together. When my son, who's now a year old, naps during the day I am drawing and when all the children are in bed I am drawing. I just cannot get enough! It's more than just a hobby, it's given me an immense sense of joy. My family, my partner, and his family, are so supportive and encouraging and it's such a lovely feeling, feeling proud of something you've achieved.
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/jvl.art?igsh=MThlZDFteGk2emNqNg
Danii
I was watching YouTube and you Bonny started talking to me well at the time me and my partner thought that was actually happening never thought about doing anything like this before and it's exactly what I needed
Ileana Maza
I retired from nursing in 2012 and moved to Florida from Connecticut. During the pandemic my husband bought all kinds of art supplies including pastels and watercolors. He ended up not enjoying the pastels and I hated seeing them go to waste, so I started watching YouTube tutorials to see if I could learn. This is how I discovered Bonny's beautiful artwork and colored pencils and started following her.
Emma Clarkson
I always loved drawing and as a horse mad little girl and grown up, I loved drawing horses, I come from an artistic family but never really gave it much thought until going through a very horrible time in my life, I was in a large Tesco Store and for some reason I picked up an A4 plain pad and a box of coloured pencils and started to sketch.Upon scrolling on YouTube I found this artist called Bonny Snowdon and was blown away by the drawings, thinking wow, imagine being able to draw like that! And so my coloured pencil journey began!
Alison Hopkins
After I retired I went to a crochet class and the teacher, Michelle, also taught art. I had done art at school but hadn’t done anything since leaving and I went to one of Michelle’s beginner water colour classes and I met a guy who did pet portraits in pastel. He did one of our cat and I asked him to show me what to do and I did a few you tube tutorials and found I enjoyed doing pet portraits.
Website: https://www.alisonspetportraits.co.uk/
Socials: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558061911479
Jennifer
My creativity had nothing to do with drawing. But I started with watercolour painting and then tried coloured pencils and just LOVED it. I used to teach crafts in adult education, Sugarcraft, Three dimensional decoupage, Beading, Card Making and more.
Cynthia Hepworth
A year ago, I never imagined that picking up a set of colored pencils would change the way I see art—and myself. I started simply wanting to try something new, but what I found was a whole new way to express emotion, patience, and joy through color. There’s a certain comfort I find in holding a pencil—the familiar balance between my fingers, the whisper of pigment against paper. Working with colored pencils allows me to slow down, to become completely absorbed in the tactile rhythm of layering, blending, and building color. Each stroke is intentional, and yet there’s freedom in the repetition. I love how patient they make me be. Each layer of color builds on the last, blending softly, creating depth and light one quiet stroke at a time. My approach is rooted in realism because I’m fascinated by the details that make something feel alive—the way light catches on skin, the subtle shifts in color across a shadow, the imperfect edges that give an object its truth. But I’m not chasing photographic precision. I want the marks of my hand to remain visible, to remind the viewer that what they’re seeing is both observation and interpretation. There’s a painterly quality I strive for—soft transitions, rich layers of pigment, and an underlying sense of movement that keeps the image breathing. I like when the hand of the artist still shows through—when you can see the soft transitions, the texture of the paper, the life that exists in imperfect edges. There’s a painterly quality I’m always chasing, that space where realism and expression meet. Color is at the heart of my process. The transitions between colors, the quiet merging of tones, become a meditation in themselves. Layering color is my favorite part of the process. It’s meditative—watching pigments mix and transform, finding new tones that didn’t exist before. Sometimes it feels more like painting than drawing, only slower, more deliberate. That slowness gives me time to really connect with the subject, to notice the hidden colors and values the quiet things that might otherwise be missed. Sometimes it feels like painting with patience—slow, deliberate, but deeply satisfying. Through this process, I try to evoke not just how something looks, but how it feels. When I joined Bonnie Snowden’s Ignite program, I was nervous and unsure. But Bonnie’s warmth, encouragement, and belief in her students helped me push past that doubt. She taught me to slow down, to really see my subject, and to trust the process—even when the drawing didn’t look perfect (during that ugly stage in a drawing when you want to quit) she would always say it will be fine, keep going it, will be great at the end. Ultimately, my art is about connection—the personal connection I have to the act of drawing, and the emotional connection I hope the viewer feels when they see the final piece. A pencil in my hand is more than a tool; it’s an extension of thought and feeling, a bridge between the tangible world and the inner one. Each artwork is a reflection of both—the real and the imagined, the precise and the painterly—coming together through layers of color and time. In this past year, I’ve learned to appreciate the slow, deliberate nature of the medium. Each stroke builds upon the next, mirroring my own growth as I discover new techniques, colors, and ways to express myself. My work now reflects both the discipline of practice and the joy of discovery. This journey with colored pencils has reminded me that it’s never too late to start something new, to learn, and to create with purpose and heart.
Susan Williams (Meyer)
Over the years, I’ve always been the artsy/craftsy sort and sporadically taken a variety of art classes in watercolor, ink and Chinese brush painting, graphite pencil and pastel drawing. I’ve also learned from books, magazines and videos online. Arts and crafts often found their way into my roles as a mother as well as my occupational therapy practice. While I called myself “creative”, I really didn’t consider myself an artist. When one of my preschool students reached out to grasp two apples I’d painted in a watercolor class, I was flattered enough to frame it, but not enough to sign it. I’ve been making puppets, writing scripts and putting on the occasional puppet show for over fifty years, but don’t call myself a puppeteer either. I knew that one day I would retire and that I wanted to pursue art more seriously. I wasn’t sure that when that time arrived, in 2018, I’d still have interest. I’d moved to Richmond, where my daughter was expecting her first child and changed my name to “Nana”. That fall, I began taking watercolor classes at a local art school. I also started drawing animals with pastel pencils and pan pastels. It was when I stumbled upon a video on Pinterest, that Bonny reminded me of my small colored pencil collection. It has become a large collection including several brands and my medium of choice. In the past seven years, I’ve gone from drawing single animals with plain backgrounds to more complex compositions of animals, including backgrounds and occasionally even their humans. I sign my work and though my tongue still trips over it a bit, I now refer to myself as an artist. The Ignite program has been a huge part of that growth. I now have a rather grand secret goal, as part of my art education. I want to give a piece of art to someone, whether I know them or not, in all fifty states. It started with a pencil sketch for a young woman I met on Twitter. She is one of the funniest people ever and happens to be two and a half feet tall, with serious orthopedic issues. I’ve sent drawings to people in 18 states, so far. The gratification I feel when standing in line at the post office is worth way more than the piece of paper and stamp in my hands. While I wouldn’t turn away a commission, I mostly want my work to be some sort of bridge of kindness and connection between people. It seems like a joyful way to spend my senior years and a productive way to improve my skills. I must also be looking for some sort of validation or meaning through something that is uniquely mine to give. Whether it is worthy of a magnet for the fridge or a matted frame is almost irrelevant, if it becomes a symbol of peace, love and kindness.
Alex Dempsey
I kept making New Year resolutions that I was going to find an art class and pick up from where I left off 30 or more years ago, it never happened until a friend said she’d seen my post and lived next to an equine artist and would ask her if she would teach me! We had a few wonderful months learning to sketch horse’s correctly and learning pastels. I loved it but not the pastels and wanted colour in my sketches! Sadly Covid came and our lessons had to end! That’s when I found Bonny on patron and thought all my Christmas’ had come at once ! It was the medium I’d been searching for, my GCSE and A levels hadn’t found me one and I knew nothing of professional grade pencils. Seeing Bonny drew horses was all the excuse I needed! I was hooked!.
Karen Edler
I was always an artistic “crafty” individual. Inspired by my mother who let me experiment with her oil paints and sat me down to learn to sew when I was very young. I lightly dabbled in creating crafty items as I raised my two girls but didn’t get back into painting until they reached high school age. Back then decorative painting was very popular. So I picked up my brushes and entertainment myself for several years. It wasn’t until I got close to retirement that I found colored pencils! I fell head long in love! I found Bonny Snowdon before Covid and I haven’t looked back. I still do a little oil and acrylic, but my true love is colored pencils.
Social Media: Karen Edler Art
Donis Wolf
A couple of years ago. I was asked to do an oil painting for someone. So I did. Then somehow Bonnie's page showed up on mine. I'd always thought colored pencil pieces were beautiful but had never tried them. I have always done oil painting or pastels. I watched a few of the short videos that were posted and thought,... I have to learn how to use colored pencils. So I joined ignite. Your teaching style totally resonates with me. I still have a whole lot to learn but I did fall in love with them. Now when I retire this December I plan on doing a whole lot more.
Debbie Archer
I hadn’t drawn really since leaving school (40 years ago at least) because of work, looking after our children and then helping run our business with my husband who works away a lot so life for women basically taking over. I then saw Bonny’s amazing work and the Academy online and it really lodged in my brain. I couldn’t stop thinking I wanted to give this a go so I worked up the courage to join. It then took me a least six months to actually sit down and have a go but once I did I loved the foundation course and all the tutorials and information. Then I got ill and was diagnosed with heart issues which sometimes keep me at home not able to go outside. This spurred me on to really go for it with my art.
Sheila Hart
I went to art college aged 17 in the late 60s but learnt nothing much at all as it was all abstract art, drugs and parties! I then went into a career in social work for 40 yrs and did the odd art class but could never find a medium I really liked. My drawing skills were better than my painting skills so 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.
Ineke
I always thought I could not draw. I have tried sometimes with no result, until I have found information using lineair with Colored pencils on YouTube, so I gave it a try. And now I am utterly in love with drawing and my Pencils. I have learned so much the last 4 yours and griend confidence by drawing.
Frances Maher
I was quite good at art when I was at school and thats where it stopped. Fast forward many decades later and I found myself furloughed at the start of lockdown...I needed a hobby! I picked up a pencil and started doodling, then joined a local online art academy. I quickly realised that due to my love of animals, this is what I wanted to focus on. I saw a random post on FB one day where Bonny Snowdon was mentioned and I did a free tutorial and never looked back! I joined Ignite and it will be 2 years this January since I've been a member. I remember reading 'create a life you cant wait to wake up to' and this is what I am now doing. I took early retirement last year, bought a puppy this year (which helped with the grief of losing 2 pets a few years ago) and my husband's man cave of 20 years is now my art room 🤣. I turned 64 on 1st October - you're never too old to dream a new dream 😍. I haven't been this happy and content in a long time 😊
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/art.bycesca
Cheryl Pirikahu
I have never drawn not even as a child all my coloring books are still with out colour. I use the pictures for quilting I have always sew. I lost my dad then two years later I lost my mum. I could not face sewing, knitting or anything I use to do. my husband told me I needed some thing as I have always done craft sewing, scrapbooking, cross stich, knitting. then my husband found bonny and said I should try drawing. my replay, I can't I have never drawn.my husband pointed out that my dad painted folk-art and was amazing at it, so I might have a talent I don't know that I had. so I drew the free rose. 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. lol still have trouble with base color's what mixes with what, but sometimes I think that a good thing. just lately I have started sewing and making cards again its has taken 3 years to sew again as my mum was my best friend. and we did everything together. I only have my daughter and her family here. my other daughter is in another country and my husband works away 3 weeks at a time. and I don't have friends so bonny and everyone at art club are like my friends. I would like to think one day I would feel my drawing would be good enough to sale but I am not ready for that yet I am just happy to stand back and say to myself you did that I have just started putting some in frames. I 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.
Susan
I’ve always had a sort of creativity, mainly with textiles. I had a needle in my hand at 3y.o. I learnt embroidery, knitting, crochet and even bobbin lace in my 20s and I quilt. I loved to ‘make’. There was no drawing I remember at primary school and when I went to secondary school, as with many others,my art attempts were laughed at, so I went a science route. When it came to applying for university places, I really wanted to do Draughting….. not to be. So I spent my working life as a scientist believing I couldn’t draw. On my retirement, I took a number of mixed media classes and one was in drawing to help in my development - I loved it and couldn’t wait for the next class. This is when I began to look for other ways to feed my enthusiasm. I picked up a number of free workshops online and began to realise not only could I draw but loved doing any kind of art. In my mixed media work I include many of the art skills I have learnt. This year I took the plunge and joined ignite. I love colouring in in any form be it pencil, pastel or paint. I’m currently watching lots of online reels for watercolour because I felt useless at it, and try to see if I can recreated them in a 4inch sketch book. As with everything, the more you do, the more you learn, and the better you become. I have had many compliments on the pencil drawings I’ve done and will continue to do these, but I also want to bring in other media as it can add so much. I still sew, etc and love to include my drawing and painting skills. My only regret is that I had to wait so long to get where I am; it gives me such joy.
Kayla King
I stumbled across Bonnie Snowdon on Facebook ads and read her story and it touched my heart as I studied fine Art in college in 2009 and never touched a pencil again till 2020 when I picked up watercolor and dabbled in that until finding Bonnie and color pencil in 2024 when a switch went off and I have fallen in love and the passion I have lost in 2009 was reignited.
Social Media: Gotta Bee Art
Jacqueline Briggs
I hadn't drawn since school, but had always wanted to, and then at the age of 70+ I found Ignite on line and took the plunge. Best thing I ever did because I found that with Bonny's teaching I could actually draw. It was a revelation and I love every minute I put aside for drawing
Priscilla Wigham
Found a BSA video had never drawn anything but stick figures. It gives me peace and satisfaction that I can create beautiful drawings. Art is meditation in motion!
Social Media: Priscilla Wigham
Gillian Taylor
I hadn't drawn since I was in secondary school before taking my options. I enjoyed all the art classes but had a particular flair for drawing still life etc. School careers service recommended typing, hone economics and commerce and so it was i worked in administration all my life. Strangely, I ended up training to be a nail technician at around 45 and trained as an educator in Budapest, Hungary and their miniature artwork was on another level - increases loved it and discovered i still loved art! I started painting with watercolours and also made watercolour paint for my shop. But watercolour was too loose for me and then I saw a video on YouTube of Bonny drawing an animal - now i am here! My first year of drawing pet portraits completed!
Social Media: gillianetaylor
Karin
Travelled the world teaching English with a set of watercolours. Fell in love, married a French man, moved to France. Was stuck without a job because I spoke zero French. Was going mad with loneliness and boredom...until I decided to channel my creativity and change the way I thought about my situation. Looked around for my passion, which was animals...and the rest is history. French is still crap, family has grown to 11 cats, but my skill level at drawing animals in CP as well as watercolour has improved, last year and this year got chosen for Sketch for Survival exhibition in London, Edinburgh and Gloucestershire. Don't sell anything coz it's France, but whatever, money isn't everything... I love being creative 😊
Social Media: –
https://www.instagram.com/karinravenart?igsh=eHIyOWRiMjNldDVw
Teri
I found Bonny on the internet. I have always wanted to draw with colored pencils but couldn't make them look right. I started taking classes and now I draw every chance I get. I lost my job and decided to build a small business drawing pets. I get a wonderful response but not many orders. I love it so much I just draw them anyway and give them to friends and people that help me with my many projects. I finally see myself as an artist. All of my other hobbies I didn't consider as being an artist. That's all changed now. I love it!!!
Deborah
I started drawing after doing my first live draw with you. Never thought I would love it as much as I do. Doesn't matter if I'm good or not I love it.
