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.
"I am truly grateful for the work put into this newsletter. The content is always inspiring and helpful in my own journey with pastels"
- HTP Blog Subscriber
Have a look around!
Check out the Welcome Video!
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
Visit NowMy Art School
Art School
Visit NowOnline Gallery
Peninsula Gallery
Visit NowMost Recent Edition
Friday, 22 September 2023
4 Comments
Dive into the fun of seeing my self-portrait come to life with unconventional colours. Restriction can be so beneficial!
More Editions...
Life Drawing Or The First Time Is Always the Hardest
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
You know when you take a car trip somewhere for the first time – say to a new friend’s house – and then the return trip always seems to take so much less time? That’s because in the first journey, everything is unfamiliar. We don’t know where we’re going, how to recognize the landmarks or
Heather Laws – The Commissioned Animal Portrait
Friday, 16 October 2020
Animal portraits. Every now and again I get a request for information on how to paint animal portraits. In these cases, it’s best to go to the experts…like Heather Laws. A few years ago, I was taken by one of her cat portraits and featured it in one of my monthly round-ups. You can see
August’s Astonishing Pastels- Let Them Motivate You!
Wednesday, 7 September 2016
It’s Labour Day and on this grey, cool day in September, I’m writing about astonishing pastels chosen from the glorious many I saw in August. These are pastels that in some way moved me to share them with you be it their colour and design, their emotional resonance, their success with values. My ten pastel
September’s Super Pastels
Friday, 9 October 2015
I can hardly believe we are well into October already. September’s Super Pastels are a wee bit late coming to you but you’ll know I’ve been busy launching my first online course Pastel Painting En Plein Air – super exciting!! Anyway, onto September’s Super Pastels! Yup, it was another fabulous selection of over 50 pastels collected over the month of September. As always,
Join HowToPastel’s journey in everything pastel. Subscribe today!
A Colourful Underpainting Can Give Vibrancy And Interest To Your Work
I often hear, “How can I make my work more colourful?” One way is to create a colourful underpainting. I recently
“His Shaving Things” – A Small Pastel In A Limited Palette
As you may know, I’m spending a couple of weeks in La Manzanilla, Mexico. I’m finally settled in and the sun
Grief And Art – Using Art-Making To Deal With My Sadness And Anger
WARNING: This is a very personal blog post. In it, grief and art come together. Yesterday I was shocked and stunned: I
Choosing Your First Soft Pastels
Probably the question I get asked the most is: “What pastels would you suggest I start with? And by the way,
Choosing a Colour Palette for Travelling
Friday, 24 May 2019
Painting An Eggplant And Garlic
Thursday, 14 July 2016
Making Abstract Art – One Way To Do This
Thursday, 14 February 2019
To Blend Or Not To Blend Pastels, OR Why I Don’t!
Friday, 2 December 2016
A Painting of Mother and Son with Miró (Gallery Goers Series)
Thursday, 11 May 2023
No Time To Paint? No Excuse! Painting A Plug In 20 Minutes
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Menu
Subscribe and always get the latest edition
Looking for more?
Instant access to the training you want!
That’s right! I’ve created an art school for people looking for more resources, tools, courses, and information to improve their soft pastel painting! Click the link to check it out.
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!!