TESTIMONIALS FROM THE “BOLD AND FEARLESS COLOUR” 5-DAY WORKSHOP IN GIBSONS, BC, CANADA, JULY 2019
After several years of drawing, painting, and printmaking at my local Community College, I was now shown how to integrate the lessons of Values, Thumbnails, and Colour properties to achieve colour paintings that I had never made before.
The workshop provided a series of exercises to demonstrate the "Bold and Faerless" concept and led us to discover for ourselves how these lessons can be applied. The workshop was well planned and the steps fully explained. We were "Doing" and not just watching. The medium was soft pastels but the principles apply to all painting.
Gail is an enthusiastic, energetic, entertaining, and altogether excellent instructor and artist. The workshop was five days of fun and hard work.
Take this workshop and be prepared to live with 3-value thumbnails. You are not allowed to forget them for a moment!"
I left the workshop feeling much better equipped to work with soft pastels and now aware of the pitfalls to avoid.
Thank you so much Gail!"
TESTIMONIALS FROM THE 10-DAY HOLIDAY PAINTING WORKSHOP IN TUSCANY, ITALY, JUNE 2019
As a pastellist, a workshop attendee, and a workshop scheduler, I fully endorse Gail Sibley, Pastel Artist extraordinaire and teacher beyond compare."
I am now a convert to a value sketch, a value underpainting....my favorite is a monochromatic underpainting...then layering the pastels in correct values to achieve the desired color of the subject matter. My paintings now have more depth and a looser style as I am looking at the whole piece rather than getting caught up in the detail.
Gail Sibley is a warm and generous teacher. She has a structured style which ensures that when the steps are followed you get results! Whilst Plein Air painting, Gail constantly checked on each pupil and gave constructive advice. Her daily review of our work was a valuable critique and she was always available for individual tutoring."
With very little experience in Plein Air painting, I had always been completely overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds when it came to painting outdoors and by trying to paint everything, all I was left with was a muddy jumble. Your approach made it completely doable and the exercises on tonal value continue to stand me in good stead. I can see such an improvement in my art!
I enjoyed the one-on-one assistance at the easel and your constructive critiques and explanations.
I continue to use my viewfinder and make thumbnails on every painting I now attempt. I can highly recommend your workshops for artists of all levels."
Although I have been painting a while, I needed some basic technique and information, and she wove that into our sessions seamlessly. I loved how she spent so much time with me during
the plein air sessions, always starting where I was with questions or problems.
And then the dreaded critiques— which I had never done! It was such a pleasure to have a supportive conversation with her and my very skilled classmates on how paintings could be improved, or not. I feel I made huge strides in my confidence as a result.
For anyone starting out, Gail offers excellent instruction and positive reinforcement in a calm and sometimes funny way. I think my colleagues in the session who were more experienced felt the same way. Do it!"
TESTIMONIALS FROM THE HOLIDAY PAINTING WORKSHOP IN SPAIN, MAY 2018
- I discovered I don't give myself credit for the skills I have - thank you for showing me my strengths
- I realize now that I need to give more attention to the overall composition. Thank you for the reminder about perspective, balance, and the use of thumbnails
- I enjoyed the colour exercises and found them useful in trying to capture the true vision of the scene
You are definitely right - working en plein air is a unique experience! I have become more in-tune with the environment. The leaves on the trees, the jagged edges of rock, the choppiness of the waves - you truly made me studying see them all. And then you taught me how to translate that energy into my marks to make something stunning.
It was delightful Gail and I'd do it all over again. It was an honour to meet you ...you're exactly what I expected and much more. Next time, we're going clothes shopping. Girl power and beyond!"
Five video testimonials from the Croatia 2017 painting holiday workshop!
Testimonials from Past Classes
ONE DAY Workshop
“How Many Colours Do I Really Need?”
“You did a good job covering the basics and introducing us to working with a limited palette.”
“A great day”
“What I liked best – Keeping the concepts really simple and reiterating the main points.”
FOUR DAY WORKSHOP
Soft Pastels: Working with a Limited Palette
“Friendly instruction, good feedback”
“It was great!”
“I liked best – your knowledge and experience and attentiveness. I learned a lot.”
“Liked best – Getting 5 paintings under the belt! Not ‘overly instructed’ ; kindly, paced instruction.”
“Everything was great.”
THREE DAY WORKSHOP
Plein Air Painting in Pastels
“Liked best – lots of practice”
“I really liked your comments and one-on-one instruction”
“ Liked best – the instructor – learning to see the scene in a different way”
“I think it was a very good workshop.”
“My honest opinion is you are a great teacher.”
FIVE DAY BEGINNER WORKSHOP
Everyone Really Can Draw
“It was a real pleasure to have you as our instructor – you’re a great teacher. Thanks for a wonderful, inspiring, challenging week.”
“I was impressed with the amount of training we received in such a short time.”
“ Liked best – The instructor – her knowledge – her teaching ability – her warmth and humour. Also the individual attention.”
“I really learned how to draw.”
“I definitely recommend this program with Gail.”
“Excellent instruction, very creative content.”
“Packed with individual help and information.”
“ Great course especially with Gail as instructor.”
“Thanks for warming my heart with your art, instructions, and personality.”
SIX HALF DAYS BEGINNER WORKSHOP
The Joy of Drawing
“The tuition was well planned and stimulating and I was very encouraged by Ms Sibley’s guidance and advice.”
“I was very impressed with Gail Sibley’s teaching. Loved the classes and can’t wait for her to teach again.”
“I would like to highly recommend Ms Gail Sibley as a ‘Beginner Drawing’ and ‘ Life Drawing’ instructor. She was a pleasure to work with in class organization. And her classes were an immense success for the Visual Arts Society. The students were pleased with her classes and found Ms Sibley extremely qualified and enjoyable.” Sami Weatherall, Class Coordinator.
“The skillful and knowledgeable tutorage of Ms Sibley made the class not only enjoyable but also very enlightening. As a result of her guidance the response and progress of the class as a whole was significant.
