IGNITE! Art-Making Membership · Gail Sibley Art School
Open now · Doors close Sunday 4 October at midnight PDT· $27 trial first month · cancel anytimeJoin now →
IGNITE! · Gail Sibley Art School

Stop stumbling.
Start painting.

The library, community, and honest feedback you need to move past the guesswork, with Gail Sibley's 30+ years of teaching, all in one place.

Start my $27 trial → What is IGNITE!?

$27 trial month · then $46/month · cancel anytime

Works by Gail Sibley: pastels, acrylic, mixed media
Flowers in vase
Flowers in Vase, pastel
Still life
Still Life, pastel
Landscape
Browns Island, pastel
Barn
Barn Scene, pastel
Gallery Goers
Gallery Goers, pastel
Vineyard
Vineyard, pastel
Slippers
Slippers, pastel
Chickens
Chickens, pastel
See it for yourself

See what IGNITE! is all about.

Gail walks you through everything: the library, the community, the live sessions, and why IGNITE! is unlike anything else in the pastel world.

Is this for me?

IGNITE! is for pastel artists who are serious about getting better.

✓
You want to understand values, colour, composition, and edges, the things that separate a good painting from a great one
✓
You're already painting and want real feedback on your work, not just encouragement
✓
You're not looking for another course to finish. You want a home for your art practice
✓
You feel like there's something obvious everyone else knows and nobody's quite explained it yet
"
“My art has evolved from being a record of vacation places to an expression of my heart and soul.”
Liz Spona, 5 years in IGNITE!
What IGNITE! is

An art-making membership. Like-minded people. Real growth.

IGNITE! is a library of hundreds of lessons, a warm international community, and a place to just keep painting. Not a course with a beginning and end. No falling behind. You dip in, you learn what you need (thumbnails one week, colour temperature the next, Art Camp for a whole month) and then you go make art.

It's been running for over six years. The library keeps growing. The community keeps showing up. And Gail is in there with you, every step.

Tutorials & Lessons
Voiceover Demos
Looking at Art: Live
Critiques
Art Camps
Private Community
Open Studio 24/7
Guest Artists
Blind Dates with Art
Why Gail built this

For years, I made mud.

Expensive pastels I was too cautious to really use. Books I read cover to cover without it clicking. Classes where the instructor held back the good stuff. "don't give away your secrets" was the thing back then.

And even the workshops I loved had no follow-up. Once it was over, it was over. I couldn't go back and ask: Am I applying this correctly? Why did this painting fall apart?

I had to stumble my way along for years before it started to make sense. I don't want that for you. I want to give you the real instruction, the honest feedback, and the community that keeps you coming back to your studio. Everything I needed and couldn't find.

That's what IGNITE! is. That's why I built it.

"Working alone in the studio can feel isolating. IGNITE! provides a warm, supportive community of artists who are always there for me."

Barbara Abram, IGNITE! member
Gail Sibley
30+
Years teaching pastels, since 1992
6 yrs
IGNITE! has been running, with the library growing every month
100s
Of lessons already in the library, with more added every month
About GailPSA Signature Member · IAPS Master Circle · Associate Artist for Unison Colour · Author, DK's "Artist Drawing Techniques" · Founder, HowToPastel.com, 7,000+ subscribers
Inside IGNITE!

Everything you need to keep growing, all in one place.

Six years of content, new lessons every month, and a community that paints alongside you.

Learning

A constantly growing library. Learn what you need, when you need it.

Tutorials
Hundreds of focused lessons on values, colour, composition, edges, perspective and much more.
Art Demos with Voiceover
Full paintings narrated from start to finish, so you hear the why behind every decision.
Looking at Art: Live
Virtual gallery visits examining masterworks through the lens of a specific topic. Always live. Always SOOOO much fun.
Critiques
Real feedback on real work, always positive, always constructive. No pressure to submit.
Tutorials inside IGNITE!
Doing

Structured experiences that get you actually painting, not just watching.

Art Camps
Month-long themed deep dives: How to Play, Working in a Series, Moving Beyond Your Reference, and more.
The October Challenge
A month of painting experiments starting Monday 5 October. Join now and you walk straight into it, with the whole community painting alongside you.
Let's Do This! Months
Accountability months designed to get you painting regularly. Less instruction, more momentum.
Take Action Sheets
One-page worksheets with specific exercises, like "paint three value studies this week" instead of vague advice.
Doing inside IGNITE!
Connecting

A warm international community. You are not painting alone in here.

Private Community
A warm, supportive space on Mighty Networks. Post work, get feedback, build real friendships.
Open Studio 24/7
Drop in anytime and paint alongside other members. Someone is always there.
Guest Artists
World-class artists join the membership for special sessions, genuinely accessible, not just a name on a poster.
Member Showcase
Your work published in the IGNITE! flip book, a record of what this community builds together.
Community inside IGNITE!

PRICING

Your first month is $27. After that, it's $46 a month, or $460 a year (two months free).

Cancel anytime. See all options →

Your journey

Where are you on this art path?

Whether you're just coming back to art after years away, or you've been painting steadily and want to go deeper, there's a place for you here. IGNITE! meets you exactly where you are.

The IGNITE! Art Path, from beginner to confident artist
Try IGNITE! for $27 your first month →

No commitment, cancel anytime. Love it? Go annual and save two months.

Only in IGNITE!

The Open Studio is always open.

Drop in anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and you'll find other IGNITE! members there. Working on something. Chatting. Just showing up for each other. A real open studio, wherever you are, with people from all over the world.

Members use it to start a morning session, hold themselves accountable, paint alongside a friend, or simply not be alone in their studio. No agenda. No sign-up. Just people who paint.

Come for the lesson. Stay because someone else is already there painting.

Open Studio
Live now
+11 painting now
"Just started a quick value study. Coffee's still hot if anyone wants to paint along."
Global community · Open 24/7
Member Work

The IGNITE! Member Showcase: what happens when you just keep showing up.

IGNITE! members paint. And the work they make is worth celebrating. We've published two editions of the Member Showcase flip book: hundreds of paintings made by people who joined, showed up, and kept going. Join now and your work could be part of the next one.

View the showcase →
Lina on the Move by Barbara
"Lina on the Move"
NuPastels & Unison Colour on Art Spectrum
Barbara
Hollyhocks and Watering Can by Carl
"Hollyhocks and Watering Can"
Ink & soft pastels on Canson Velvet
Carl
At the Gallery by Judi
"At the Gallery"
Various pastels on Sennelier La Carte
Judi
Northwest Winter Sunset by Liz
"Northwest Winter Sunset"
Pastel
Liz
Icy Feet in Ithaca Falls by Martyne
"Icy Feet in Ithaca Falls"
Pastel on UART 320
Martyne
Going Up by Sybil
"Going Up"
Pastel
Sybil
A member's story
"
I am doing art again almost daily — and the fear is disappearing. The joy is returning.

I studied art at school, loved it, even considered it at university. But didn't dare. Life took over — moving countries, bringing up a family. I was dying to learn how to paint. I dabbled. Tried a few classes. Not successfully.

Then I found Gail's HowToPastel blog — and then she announced IGNITE! I took the plunge. Gail took us RIGHT back to the beginning. Learning about thumbnails, values and colours. The demos were daunting, but Gail is so warm and welcoming, yet she dares to critique honestly — which is where we LEARN.

I cannot recommend this membership highly enough.

RL
Rhona Li
IGNITE! member
More from IGNITErs

What members say

★★★★★

"IGNITE! is great fun and the accountability is great for me. We have virtual museum visits where we discuss the work of well known artists. I've learned so much from it all! Gail is very generous and caring."

Nicolette · Netherlands
IGNITE! member
★★★★★

"My art has evolved from being a record of vacation places to an expression of my heart and soul."

Liz Spona · 5 years in IGNITE!
★★★★★

"My paintings have become more practiced and less laboured. I now think more intentionally about dark and light, warm and cool, bright and muted as I work."

Carl Kikuchi · IGNITE! member
★★★★★

"Working alone in the studio can feel isolating. IGNITE! provides a warm, supportive community of artists who are always there for me."

Barbara Abram · IGNITE! member
★★★★★

"IGNITE! has opened doors to new friends, artworks, art history, materials, techniques, and, above all, encouragement. I create more, share more, and learn more."

Sue Edwards · IGNITE! member
★★★★★

"My success rate has dramatically improved. I now create value studies regularly before putting pastel to paper — something I never did before."

Deborah Goldstein · IGNITE! member
★★★★★

"Gail's reminders that it is the process and not the outcome allowed me the freedom of seeing. A new world."

Martyne Bailey · IGNITE! member
Special events

Amazing Guest Artists

Throughout the year, world-class guest artists join IGNITE! for special sessions, significant events that bring exceptional talent right into the membership. Past guests include:

Lorenzo Chavez
Masterclass · May 2026

Lorenzo Chavez

World-renowned plein air painter joined IGNITE! for a full live masterclass in May 2026.

The masterclass is waiting for you in the library.

Past guest artists

Richard Suckling
Richard Suckling
Plein air into the studio
Alain Picard
Alain Picard
Getting to know your subject
Lyn Asselta
Lyn Asselta
Masterclass on painting rocks
Rita Kirkman
Rita Kirkman
Painting animals in pastel
Clarence Porter
Clarence Porter
Painting the night
Andrew McDermott
Andrew McDermott
Masterclass guest artist

Guest artists we love drop into IGNITE!, and you get to paint with them, learn from them and ask them anything.

...and others like Michelle Ashby, Corey Pitkin, Mel Williamson, Jessica Masters, Ian Roberts, Robin Thornhill, Casey Klahn...

Your guide

Hi, I'm Gail.

I have been obsessed with pastels since 1992, and I've been teaching ever since. Not because I wanted to build a business, but because I genuinely believe everyone who loves to paint deserves to actually get better at it. Not through guesswork. Not by stumbling. Through real instruction, honest feedback, and the right community around them.

IGNITE! is everything I needed when I was learning and couldn't find. I've put 30 years of teaching into it, and I add more every single month. I'm not going anywhere. Neither is the library.

PSA Signature Member · IAPS Master Circle
Associate Artist for Unison Colour
Contributor, DK's Artist Drawing Techniques
Founder, HowToPastel.com, 7,000+ subscribers
In-person workshops in Croatia, Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, UK, Australia, and more
Paint alongside Gail: start your $27 trial →

Doors open until Sunday 4 October at midnight PDT.

Questions

Frequently asked

Is there a long-term commitment?

Not at all. That's the whole point of the trial. Your first month is just $27. Try the membership, explore the library, join the community, show up to a session. If it's not for you, cancel before the month is up and you won't be charged again.

Monthly plan: cancel anytime. Annual plan: a full-year commitment to your art, but you save the equivalent of two months.

I'm loving my trial. Can I switch to the annual plan and save?

Yes, and I'd love that! 🥰 Annual is $460 a year, which is two months free compared with paying monthly. Near the end of your trial month I'll send you an email with a "Go annual" button. One click, and your monthly billing stops on its own. If you already know, you can also choose annual right from the start.

What level of experience do I need?

IGNITE! works best if you're already painting, even if you're not happy with the results yet. Complete beginners should start with Gail's Pastels 101 course first. If you've made paintings but feel like you're missing something fundamental about values, colour, or composition, you're exactly who this is for.

Most lessons focus on core art-making principles that translate across mediums, though Gail primarily demos in soft pastels.

How does it all work?

IGNITE! is a library that keeps growing, not a course with a fixed beginning and end. New content typically releases on Sundays. Live sessions run approximately weekly. Art Camps replace the usual schedule for a full month when they run. The community on Mighty Networks is active all the time.

You dip in, you grab what you need, you go paint. There's no falling behind. Everything is always there waiting for you.

I'm already super busy. How much time does it take?

As much or as little as you like. There's no schedule to keep up with and no such thing as behind. Join the live sessions when you can, or catch the replay when it suits you. Dip in for twenty minutes when you need inspiration, and come back whenever you've been away. The time that matters most is the time you spend painting.

Can I access the content if I cancel?

You have full access to everything released during your active membership. If you cancel, access ends. Worth knowing: if you leave and return later, you'll join at the current member price, which may be higher. Current members keep their rate for as long as they stay.

What supplies do I need?

No specific supplies required to join. For soft pastels, Gail recommends a starter set. Her own Unison Colour set of 36 is a great place to start. You'll also want neutral-coloured paper (Canson Mi-Teintes "Felt Grey"), plus some UART or Pastelmat. Gail always specifies exactly what she's using when she demos.

When do I get access?

Immediately on joining! You'll receive two receipts (Stripe and Gail Sibley Art School) plus login details by email. Bookmark the login page and you're in. The library, the community, and the live schedule are all waiting.

Start my $27 trial →

Or scroll down to see all pricing options.

Join IGNITE! this October

Try it for one month.
See how it feels.

Only open until Sunday 4 October. Start with the trial and cancel anytime before the month is up.

Best way to start
Trial
$27
your first month
then $46/month · cancel anytime
Start my trial →
Annual
$460
per year
2 months free · best value
Join annual

All prices USD · Access starts immediately · Secure checkout via Stripe · Doors close Sunday 4 October at midnight PDT

"If you've read this far, you already know whether IGNITE! is for you. The doors are open until Sunday. I'd love to paint alongside you."

🎨 Gail

Start my trial →

$27 first month · cancel anytime · doors open until Sunday 4 October at midnight PDT

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