Meet Bonny Puckett | Photographer and Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bonny Puckett and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bonny, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
I consider myself to be very philanthropic. Over the years I have worked closely with several non-profit organizations whose missions have been dear to me and my family. I have served in various roles as volunteer, fundraiser, board member, speaker, advocate and mentor. Most recently, through my photography and art I have been finding ways to utilize my creative talent to help increase awareness of social, environmental, conservation and health issues that challenge our community. I try to create unique and moving pieces of art that will encourage viewers to consider the challenges, help educate them and spark a greater interest in becoming part of the solution.

For instance I created a piece designed to increase awareness of bee conservation that has been very well recieved. While being an intriguing and aesthetically pleasing piece of art, it also includes several bee facts that help educate viewers about them and their importance to our global agriculture and food supply.

In addition, for all of my bee related artwork and photography sold, I donate a portion of the proceeds to support bee conservancy.

I do the same for many of my other products as well. Here are some examples: a portion of proceeds from pet related artwork supports animal welfare; proceeds from horse related products support the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group; a portion of proceeds from all my sunflower products are currently going to support children and families affected by the war in Ukraine; and a portion of proceeds from any of my ocean and marine wildlife art is donated to support ocean and marine wildlife conservation.

I have also donated my time as a photographer to some local non-profit organizations, as well donated original and limited edition artworks for community fundraising events and silent auctions.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My work that I am most excited about right now is my photographic artwork. It can be considered a form of photographic expressionism. I use a combination of in camera and digital post processing techniques to create unique pieces of art that look like abstract paintings.

Learning to do this type of work was very challenging as when I got started I wasnt aware of many other photographers working with this type of process. I had to do a lot of research and commit a great deal of time and practice to learning and developing the techniques that would achieve the results I was looking for.

One of the things I find most exciting is that I am still learning and refining my practice. Watching my art pieces evolve and seeing my clients reactions to them has been amazing.

This year has been a big shift for me in a very positive way as I participated in my first art exhibition this spring, won several awards already this year and I’ve begun work on some fun new commissions.

I am currently accepting commissions for fall/winter and look forward to creating some exciting new pieces in the second half of this year.

I have also been working on a book, titled “Arizona Waters”, that will be coming out soon. It’s a combination of original photography and Haiku poetry that focuses on one of our most precious resources here in the desert, our watersheds.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
That would definitely depend on the time of year and what local events are happening.

I live in Fountain Hills so I would definitely take them for a hike on the Overlook trail and then stop for a bite to eat and bottle of wine on the patio at Euro Pizza Cafe while watching the famous Fountain spray its plume high into the air.

A kayak trip on Saguaro Lake or down the Lower Salt River is a nice way to cool off in the warmer months and you might even be lucky enough to see some amazing wildlife like bald eagles, river otters and the wild horses.

If it’s not too hot out a road trip to Southern Arizona would be a fun time. Stopping along the way at Rooster Cogburns to feed the animals, then doing a wine tour through Sonoita on the way to Tombstone and Bisbee.

Or if the Valley is heating up maybe a road trip north to Sedona for some hiking, meditation in a vortex, splashing in the creek, and checking out native american ruins before heading to Page Springs for wine tasting.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I definitely want to give a shoutout to my husband Ryan and my two kids Andrew and Sara. They have been my biggest supporters in my journey as a photographer and artist and I truly appreciate them. I also want to thank the wonderful members of the Phoenix Chapter of Women Networking in Photography. Their positivity and motivation helped me to realize my own potential. I also want to thank all the wonderful artists and photographers that I have had the opportunity to be inspired by and learn from. They have shown me that there are so many different niches in the art world and there is truly no right or wrong way to make art, as long as it makes you happy.

Website: Photoartbybonny.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/photoartbybonny

Twitter: Twitter.com/photoartbybonny

Facebook: Facebook.com/photoartbybonny