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, 8 May 2026
2 Comments
Lush scenery, painting, laughter, delicious food, and the joy of stepping outside ordinary life for a while — here’s what made our Costa Rica retreat so memorable.
More Editions...
A limited palette proves a challenge in this pastel painting video
Thursday, 8 August 2013
I recently uploaded another pastel painting video to YouTube. In it, I used a limited palette of eight Schminke soft pastels on Wallis paper. Here’s the finished piece: And here’s the video showing the process start to finish – just click on the image: Here are a couple of other
A Sketchbook Of Thumbnails
Friday, 25 November 2022
The October 31-pastels-in-31-Days Challenge is well behind us now. The primary purpose of the Challenge is to get something painted each and every day. And this can be oh so hard!! One thing that helps me make this daily practice happen is having a sketchbook of thumbnails. Why is this useful? Because a lot of
A country road in Jamaica painted in pastel
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you I was off to La Manzanilla, Mexico for a couple of weeks for a week of tango intensive and also a week of semi-vacation (it’s kind of a working holiday). It takes a wee bit of time to settle in and get an internet connection hence
A 10-Minute Painting? Yes You Can!
Tuesday, 25 July 2017
Regularly in the HowToPastel Facebook group, we have a Friday Challenge. The challenge could be to paint a specific subject or create a painting in particular way. Inspired by the interviews with Jen Evenhus and Tony Allain, recently the challenge was to create a 10-minute painting. Yup you heard me. A 10-minute painting. Since it was my challenge, I thought I better darn
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July’s 10 Uncommon Pastel Paintings
We are well into August but still not too late for my roundup of ten uncommon pastel paintings selected from all
Alan Flattmann – A Sense of Place
Alan Flattmann is one of those pastel artists whose work I’ve known since the days I really started to get into
Lynn Howarth – Portraits That Capture Likeness And Soul
I’m delighted to bring Lynn Howarth to the HowToPastel blog! I’ve been following Lynn’s work for years now. I’ve always admired
When All Else Fails, Crop!
A couple of blogs ago, I gave you the step-by-step progression of the pastel I did in Budapest. The painting wasn’t
From Thumbnail To Underpainting
Friday, 9 February 2024
From Sketch to Painting – Using A Life Drawing
Saturday, 11 July 2020
Playing With Colour To Create Unique and Bold Paintings
Friday, 7 April 2023
Demos At IAPS In The Schmincke Pastels Booth
Sunday, 12 July 2015
Plein air painting on Salt Spring – A Visit to the Vineyards
Thursday, 25 July 2013
How To Store Pastel Paintings
Sunday, 16 August 2015
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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!!