About
the blog for soft pastel art lovers
Inspired by my love of pastels and the enjoyment I receive from teaching about them the How to Pastel Blog has tips & tricks, reviews, step-by-step progressions, guest bloggers, and a great community on Facebook.
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A bit about me
I am very lucky to have been born and brought up in Jamaica, a land of beauty and complexity, of warmth and coolness, of vibrancy and tension. Many say that my Caribbean upbringing influenced my palette and I think they may be right. I do know that it shaped my worldview. Check out these sites to learn more about me and my work.
My Art Practice
Gail Sibley
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Peninsula Gallery
Visit NowMost Recent Edition
Friday, 7 June 2024
24 Comments
Streamline your creative process with these photo organisation tips. Say goodbye to endless scrolling on your phone, trying to find that reference photo.
More Editions...
10 Reasons To Go On A Painting Holiday Workshop
Wednesday, 27 September 2017
A year and a half ago, Mario Vukelic invited me to lead a painting holiday workshop with Pastel Workshops Croatia. And early this September, it happened! I had an amazing group of six students who were dedicated in their pursuit of pastel painting knowledge. There were times of concentrated silence and times of uncontrolled laughter
New Pastel Painting Tip video – all about breaking pastels
Sunday, 29 June 2014
Hiya, I am finally getting back to a normal-ish life and schedule after the madness of two shows (‘Emergence’ and ‘Caught Red Handed’) back to back. They went well and it was wonderful to work towards them and produce so much new and exciting work but things like regular blogging kinda took a back seat!
Why Are We So Hard On Ourselves? One Thing That May Help
Monday, 7 August 2023
As artists, it’s amazing how hard on ourselves we can be! Just a few mistakes, just a few missed days in the studio and bam, and we are beating ourselves up. Here’s one thing to do about that!
Christine Swann – Getting The ‘Right’ Skintone
Friday, 27 March 2020
I’ve followed this artist since I first saw her work quite a few years ago. I wrote about one of her pieces in a very early blog post. Since then I’ve admired her work, applauding her awards, received one after another. Happily she agreed to a wee interview when I was IAPS. The artist? Christine Swann. Christine brings a vitality of light and
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Seeing Colour In Greys – “Sipping Patrón”
If you know me, you know I LOVE colour! I love painting with bright colours and then, when needed, layering pastels
January’s Phenomenal Pastels!
Here we are again at the beginning of a new month which means it’s time to look back at the previous
Value Dominance! How it Can Make (or Break) Your Painting
Recently in my IGNITE! art-making membership, I asked members: What’s your favourite lesson so far? Happily, many of them said they
Carol Peebles – Awakening The Spirit With Pastel Portraits From Life
I’ve been enjoying portraits by Carol Peebles for some time now. You’ll find one of her pastels features in October’s monthly
Blurred Boundaries #5 – a pastel progression step-by-step
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
The Benefits Of Doing Thumbnails!
Friday, 7 February 2020
“His Shaving Things” – A Small Pastel In A Limited Palette
Wednesday, 28 January 2015
Lack Of Colour Choices Will Get Your Creativity Flowing
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
Painting dried roses – step-by-step
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Paint Like No One’s Watching (Or Cares About What You Are Doing)…. In Zagreb
Wednesday, 30 August 2017
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6 thoughts on “About”
Gail! Just got turned on to your website by a fellow artist from Wellington, Ontario… both of us former presidents of the Pastel Society of Eastern Canada. I work primarily in pastel and it will always be my medium of choice! I could never give them up! Being a landscape artist for years, I would now like to change things up a bit and try abstract. I was inspired by your article about the progression of your abstract painting…it’s given me the courage to take that (for me) giant leap and go ahead with an image I’ve had in my mind for a long time. Thank you! I look forward to future e-mails! Your’s is one of the best Pastel websites I’ve come across. Look forward to receiving your emails.
Kathryn
Thank you for writing Kathryn, and for your enthusiasm! It comes over loud and clear 🙂 I am wondering which article on abstraction you are referring to. Perhaps you can add a comment directly on the blog? Good luck with your leap. I know how difficult it is to make. It’s ongoing risk-taking that’s for sure! Please let me know how it goes.
Look forward to hearing more from you
I just read your article in the April issue of “Pastel Journal”. Thank you so much. I felt as if you were speaking directly to me. I am going to tear it out and tape it to my studio wall.
Marcia
Marcia, that’s the best reward a writer/artist could hear!! Thank you for letting me know. (As yet, I still haven’t received my copy!)
Hi Gail. I’m really excited and pleased to have discovered your website. I live in southern Australia and I started painting with pastels a few years ago (self taught) , but went a bit stale after doing a couple of workshops- mostly because the pastel artists here who I came across seem to be very conventional and felt that I wasn’t learning much. I’ve been working in oils since and enjoyed it- as I’ve realised, it’s similar in many ways. You showcase so many exciting works – use of colour, composition etc. , and your quick tips are helping me rethink how to approach my work. Looking forward to hearing more about your workshop in Tasmania, or perhaps one in Europe in a couple of years’ time.
Hi Judi,
Thanks for writing such a lovely introduction to yourself and your work. Certainly oils are similar to pastels in the way one builds a painting. Interesting that! I’m glad though that my blog may bring you back to the pastel side 😀 Even if not, so much of what’s here can be applied to the other media available for painting.
I look forward to having you in one of my workshops whether in Tasmania or Europe!!