About Me

Bonnie Ferguson Butler saw her first tree, figuratively, when she was a Senior at Wofford College, the result of a required Art class outside of her Science majors. After many years balancing biochemistry, fiber arts and amateur photography, she took time off to become a mother and fine art flowed as a result. Her Master of Humanities work with an emphasis in Art History at the University of Richmond gave her the foundation for studying and pursuing fine art, while area instructors shared their passion with her. This degree became the Master of Liberal Arts and she graduated in May, 2016. She became a candidate for the Graduate Certificate in Writing in September, 2016 and enrolled in the Profession Sequence in Editing at UC - Berkeley in December 2016. Both will be completed in 2017-2018.

As a new mother, Bonnie concentrated on watercolor painting. For the years since then, she has worked in soft pastel and oil. An award winning artist and photographer, her emphasis is working en plein air and she sees trees regularly these days.

Bonnie has studied under Master Pastelists Richard McKinley, Jean Hirons, Maggie Price, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Alan Flattmann, Jack Pardue, and Marla Baggetta. Further, she has been a student at The Art League in Alexandria, ACE in Fairfax, and Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton.

Bonnie's favorite award to have received was a First Place prize in 2012 as judged by Hullihen Williams Moore, a student of Ansel Adams.

See Bonnie's photography and paintings in person at Lorton's Workhouse Arts Center's  Building W-9, plus in numerous local, regional, and national exhibits. She has been a juried Associate at the Workhouse Arts Center since 2009 and exhibits as both a painter and a photographer.

In 2011, she took a leap to found the Pastel Society of Virginia (Facebook.) In the opinions of many, creating a pastel society in Virginia was long overdue; Maryland had one long established society and North Carolina had four. Virginia is so large that it could be considered a region, but Bonnie desired uniting the Commonwealth's pastelists for camaraderie and opportunities for education and exhibition. She continues as its president.

In 2013, Bonnie was elected an Associate Member of the Pastel Society of America and in 2014 juried as a Signature Member of the Maryland Pastel Society.




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