Expressive Color with a Limited Palette Gail Sibley
4 day Workshop: June 4-7, 2025
9 am - 4 pm
$815 + 6.88% NM Sales Tax
A note to our students: To ensure that the workshop will not be canceled, we kindly request that you sign up as early as possible. Please note that if the minimum number of students required is not met three (3) weeks before the first day of class, the workshop will be canceled. However, we offer a full refund in the event of a canceled workshop, so there is no monetary risk for you. Please take some time to review our cancellation policy.
About the Workshop
Skill level: Intermediate
Materials used: Pastel
Overview:
This studio-based workshop is a deep dive into the creative potential of colour. It will be all about understanding and becoming more confident and expressive with colour and doing that with a limited palette.
We will start digging into values because understanding this aspect of colour will not only help you create stronger paintings but also give you freedom with colour!
We’ll explore pastel application and layering then go on to creating colour studies. From these we’ll develop new ways to represent and express a subject in colour. Through the four days, we’ll progress from a literal interpretation of a subject to a more intuitive and expressive one. We’ll focus on really understanding why you’re pulled to paint a subject and explore ways to make sure that’s what you capture. Experimentation and risk-taking are a big part of this workshop and our mantra will be: Process not outcome Leave your comfort place at home!
Challenge yourself to learn new ways to express yourself in colour. Revel in the creative process. Be prepared to struggle and be frustrated - these are GOOD things!! They mean you are in a growth place. New things will come out of these uncomfortable places. We are artists and our purpose isn’t merely to copy what we see (especially from a photo) but to share something of unique vision and understanding of the world.
About Gail
A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST LIVING IN VICTORIA, BC ON THE CANADIAN WEST COAST.
I’m crazy about colour and at the same time, a limited palette is my jam! Whether I’m painting in soft pastels or paint (acrylic, watercolour, or oil), my focus is on creating a visual extravaganza of colour using the smallest number of colours. Crazy huh? (Whether you’re a student at the GailSibleyArtSchool or a subscriber to my HowToPastel blog, you’ll hear about the benefit of a limited palette. All. The. Time.)
Along with creating art, I also love teaching. With the last two pandemic years, so much of our lives have been pushed online and that’s where you’ll find me sharing my knowledge and encouraging students to believe in themselves and their unique voice. Happily, in-person workshops are coming back!
Life has a funny way of distracting you from your soul’s purpose (in my case for example, taking on the work of a Masters degree in Art History and more recently, creating IGNITE! an art-making membership) but always, always, the call deepens and when I hear and surrender to that call, returning fully to my art-making, I’m my most joyful self. Creating artwork that reveals the beauty in the world even in the most ordinary and mundane of subjects is the challenge and the reward.
What’s Included
Bluebird Studios offers an array of complimentary food and beverages during our workshops. Attendees can enjoy an ice breaker the evening before the first day, complimentary continental breakfast served every morning, complimentary unlimited beverages, and afternoon treats each day. We also offer catered lunches brought to the studio or the plein air site (optional for $20), and lastly, our complimentary signature lunch of Frito Chili Pie on the final day. We will spoil you!
Supplies
The supply list for this class can be opened via the button below and printed at your convenience.