It's A Bonny Old Life

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny shares why your confidence can fluctuate as an artist. She talks about the four levels of competency and how this model helps us to understand the stages we go through when learning a new skill. She shares what each stage is and how you can apply it to your art journey. Bonny then talks about the cycle of learning and how we’re constantly moving thro...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny talks about how you never know where life will take you. Bonny shares some of her life and her journey to becoming a full-time artist, from being told she wasn’t good enough to be an artist at 17 years old, to now having grown her art business and teaching over 4000 students across the world. She talks about the importance of keeping an open mind, be...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny looks back on the events of July. Bonny shares some of the incredibly exciting events of July including moving into her new offices, welcoming her daughter Maisy into the team and a trip down to London with her sister and sons.  She also talks about the drawings she’s been working on including a vibrant human portrait and a large commission piec...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny talks about her experience of coming to art later in life and how she has made a living from her art. Bonny shares how she discovered her love for coloured pencils, how she started commissions, and her timeline and plan to becoming a full-time artist. As well as talking about pricing and the importance of having a pricing structure that will allow yo...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny looks back on the events of June. Bonny shares some exciting developments in the business, talks about her upcoming pet portrait business course that she has started working on and her trip to Amsterdam to see Esther Hicks. She also shares the drawings she has been working on recently including a couple of new tutorials, a commission and what she has...

In this episode of It’s A Bonny Old Life, Bonny sits down with artist and founder of Plant Based Paintings Katherine Wilmore. Katherine talks about the journey she has taken and the different artistic paths she has explored. Bonny and Katherine discuss the evolution of selling art online, the importance of building an email list and using social media. They offer advice to other artists and stress...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny looks back on the events of May. Bonny talks about her business trip to San Francisco at the start of the month, including getting to meet one of her favourite authors. She also discusses her very first Coloured Pencil Week, how her and her team navigated it, shares some little hiccups when it came to new technology! As well as talking about the love...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny shares some tools to help you overcome challenges as an artist. She shares some of the challenges she has faced as a coloured pencil artist, from struggling with the ‘ugly stages’ to finding herself losing interest, she discusses how she overcame them. Bonny also discusses some different tools to help you get past those brain blocks, those knocks in...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny looks back on the events of April. Bonny shares the exciting arrival of the new Ignite Video Hub and all the fantastic upgrades it has had so that her members can have the best possible experience.  She also discusses the announcement of her upcoming Coloured Pencil Week, talks about the drawings she has been working on this month and shares som...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny shares her story of becoming a full-time artist. Bonny shares how she became a full-time artist, by making her drawing a priority, believing in herself, making a business plan, and most importantly continuing to develop and work on herself. She discusses the ways she has made her commission business successful, shares the key to long-term success, pr...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny looks back on the events of March. Bonny shares how the month was kicked off with the amazing event that is her Great British Art Party which, this time, was held up in Edinburgh at a beautiful hotel. She also talks about heading back to Norway for a cruise holiday, getting to see the northern lights, go husky sledging and having the unfortunate expe...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny answers some frequently asked questions. She shares her favourite surface to draw on, pencils and eraser to use, and which sharpener she loves for a “lazy artist”. She explains some of their qualities, what makes them her favourites, how she uses them, and why she recommends them to other coloured pencil artists for their drawings. She also talks all...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny looks back on the events of February. Bonny talks all about her holiday with her children, sharing some of the many activities they did, including staying at the Ice Hotel in Sweden, riding snowmobiles and husky sledding in Finland, and seeing the Northern Lights in Norway. She also shares the art projects she has been working on, including a new com...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny shares her number one piece of advice for anyone who wants to start an art business. She explains how the most important aspect of running a business isn’t something most people would think of and how good marketing, a great business plan or being able to understand your figures, while all important, aren’t the most important things. Bonny explains&n...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny looks back on the events of January.   Bonny shares some of the exciting planning going on for her next Great British Art Party in Edinburgh in March, including sorting out the goodie bags and searching for an image for the draw-along.   She also talks about the welcoming of lots of new Ignite members this month as the Ignite Membership ope...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny shares some of the best ways to price your artwork. Bonny shares her 8-step way to determine your pricing strategy and shares how she priced her artwork when she first started. She discusses some of the factors to consider when it comes to pricing such as your skill level, or your confidence and how these factors might affect your pricing. She goes o...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny looks back on the events of 2023. Bonny shares some of the exciting things that have happened in her Ignite Membership this year including more human portraits, gaining lots of lovely new members, and seeing her member’s amazing creativity, progress, and achievements. She also talks about some of the travel she has been able to do this year and all t...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny shares why your goal for the New Year should be to be more creative. She talks about how we often hear people saying they don't have time to do the things they want to do and explains how this is often just an excuse. She shares how once you learn to prioritise, we all have time to do the things that will bring us joy and that we really want to...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny looks back on the events of November. Bonny shares some of the drawings she has been working on this month, including a new tutorial for her Ignite members and explains how this month she has changed the formatting of her tutorials to help provide more options for her students. She also shares some of the exciting tutorials she has planned for the ne...

In this episode of It’s A Bonny Old Life, Bonny is joined by Watercolour Artist and Teacher, Richa Aggarwal. Richa talks about what caused her to make the career change from dentist to full-time artist, and her membership where she teaches her members to paint in watercolour through florals. As well as discussing how valuable being part of a membership is and the benefits of all being on the same...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny looks back on the events of October. Bonny shares the drawings she has been working on this month, including a couple of commission pieces and the start of a new subject in Art Club, with her Ignite Members. She also mentions that she is in discussion with a local photographer who is going to give her permission to use some of his photos, perhaps for...

In this episode of It’s A Bonny Old Life, Bonny is joined by Oil Painter, Coloured Pencil Artist, and Illustrator, Antoniette Preston. Antoniette shares her lifetime love for drawing and explains her career path that has got her to where she is today, a full time artist and teacher, running workshops for children to help give them opportunities to focus on a creative path. She discu...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny reviews the whirlwind month of September.   She shares her excitement at being able to welcome lots of new members into the Ignite community when it opened its doors this month and all the extra events she has been doing to ensure they feel happy and confident as they embark on, or continue, their creative journeys.    She also discuss...

In this episode of It’s A Bonny Old Life, Bonny is joined by SBID Accredited Designer, Ann Marie Cousins. Ann Marie shares a bit about her life and how she made the swap from being a litigator, dealing mainly in fraud and insurance cases, to setting up her own interior design business, and some of the similarities between the two seemingly very different jobs. She shares how she loves talking to h...

In this episode of It's A Bonny Old Life, Bonny sits down to take a look back on the busy, but exciting, month of August.   Bonny finally reveals the details of her first in-person event since 2020, the Great British Art Party, and her plans to run more of them throughout 2024. She also discusses the free Live Events that she has in August and the start of September, and the one-day workshop...