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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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Friday, 6 December 2024
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Discover how sketching in Tuscany, instead of relying on photos, helped my students create vibrant, emotive paintings that went far beyond what photos could capture.
More Editions...
Lana Ballot – Painting Evening Light
Tuesday, 19 June 2018
Painting landscapes in the evening light, capturing the fading colour of the land as the sky lights up with colour, is not easy. So often we see blackened landscapes with garish skies. Lana Ballot knows what she’s doing and so I’m delighted that she’s agreed to guest post and tell you all about how she
Pushing Colour-How To Make Your Bland Photo Into A Bold Painting
Friday, 12 February 2021
Recently in my IGNITE! art-making membership, a member asked about how to make an interesting painting from a boring photo. This isn’t an uncommon question. I’ve also been asked: “How do I the greyness that I see in my photo more colourful in my painting?” Or how about this: “I was so taken with the
Steph Mouw – Flower Power!
Wednesday, 23 January 2019
A bouquet of flowers – they lift us up and bring us joy. Which was one of the reasons I was taken by the work of this month’s guest blogger Steph Mouw – it goes beyond that happy emotional feeling. I’ve featured Steph’s pastel work twice in the roundups – the first was a still
Thumbnails- In Preparation For The Paint Around At The ICAN Pastel Conference
Wednesday, 30 May 2018
When you receive this, I will have finished participating in the ICAN Pastel Conference Paint-Around! As I write this, however, the event is still in the future. In preparation, I needed to decide on an image and to help with this decision, I turned to creating thumbnails of a number of photos. Two things I needed to keep in mind as I collected possible
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Mary Cassatt – After The Bath
In honour of Mother’s day, a close look at “After the Bath,” a painting of a mother and her children by Mary Cassatt. We take a close look at this glorious painting!
31 Paintings In 31 Days – Shall We?
(Updated September 2020) Soooooooo….the decision has been made – I’m all in for the 31 pastel paintings in 31 days challenge!! It
April’s Pastel Favourites
Oh. My. Gosh. It’s the end of yet another month and once again I’ve faced the terrible and delectable task of
Felicity House – A Spillage From Head, Hand, And Heart
As we know (especially if you’ve read my monthly roundups), pastel can be applied in soooo many ways. One of these
Understanding Colour Temperature
Friday, 8 September 2023
No Time To Paint? No Excuse! Painting A Plug In 20 Minutes
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
High Key Painting – What IS That??
Friday, 10 October 2014
What’s a Low Key Painting?
Tuesday, 23 December 2014
Colour Schemes And How I Don’t Use Them
Saturday, 28 July 2018
Creating Thumbnails En Plein Air (My Mexico Paintings)
Friday, 19 January 2024
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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!!