Spark Creativity, Fuel Passion — Join IGNITE!
Make Amazing Art. Love the Journey!
Professional Instruction for Inspired Artists!
Sign up and get the scoop on the next IGNITE! opening. Act today so you don’t miss a thing!
*NO COMMITMENT – signing up simply gets you the saucy details.
What is IGNITE?
It's an Online Membership for Pastel Artists
And this is what it looks like...
Learning
- 100s of tutorials
- Demos with Voiceover
- Critiques
- Art Camps
Doing
- Challenges
- 'Let's Do This!' Months
- Take ACTION Sheets
- Fun Activities
Connecting
- Friendships & Connections
- Private Community
- Discussions & Feedback
- Motivation & Accountability
With amazing guest artists like...
On Bringing Your Plein Air Skills Into the Studio
Richard Suckling
MAY 2025
Getting To Know Your Subject
Alain Picard
April 2024
Masterclass on Painting Rocks
Lyn ASSELTA
February 2025
Rita Rirkman
August 2025
Painting Animals in Pastel
and many other fantastic guests!
So...Will IGNITE! Work For You?
IGNITE! is a great place for you if...
- You love painting with pastels but you're overwhelmed by everything involved, from getting the right materials to knowing how to create a strong and meaningful painting
- You want to improve your artists skillset learning more about thumbnails, values, colours, composition, and everything in between to create stunning works of art!
- You want accountability to get into your studio regularly, while having fun and painting with confidence
- You're dedicated to growing who you are as an artist and striving for that goal each and every time you put your #pasteltopaper
Hiya!!
I'm Gail Sibley
Artist. Instructor. Blogger.
I grew up in Jamaica and now live on Canada’s West Coast. I have been making art and teaching others about art-making for over 30 years.
I stand by the notion that nothing beats the learning experience of an in-person workshop, but I realised there were more artists that needed the same access to instruction.
So I created IGNITE! a library of tutorials, demos, and masterclasses for you to learn the foundations and complexities of making art. It’s a place of learning, but also a place of joy, connections, good vibes, and incredibly inspiring, art-making!
IGNITE!
Let's break it down...
Tutorials
I make regular additions to the hundreds of videos already in the library. Learn what you need, when you need it! A few examples of Tutorials already in the library are: Thumbnails, Choosing first layer colours, Colour Temperature, Colour Intensity, Linear Perspective. And that's barely scratching the surface!
Critiques
In this area of the membership I will sometimes give feedback on member paintings done in response to new lessons that are released. It's a fun and engaging way to create group instruction. Always positive, always working to make stronger art! Who knew criticism was fun. And no pressure to participate. Just watching is also learning 😀
Art Demos with Voiceover
I also have videos of me (most likely) creating a painting. They come with a voiceover that explains what I’m doing and what I’m thinking through the creative process. My students say it's helpful to hear my thought process, the 'why' of my choices. That's what this type of demonstration is about.
Looking at Art
Examining art from the past is a powerful way to learn. Taking a close look at artworks through the lens of a particular topic (eg linear perspective) to see how they dealt with the concept. It's also SOOOO much fun to travel virtually to art galleries around the world together. Inspiring & Educational!!
A Creative Community
For our private online community we use a platform called Mighty Networks where members post work and get group feedback and responses. This is a place to share your struggles and joys as an artist! We love seeing everyone's art journeys.
Art Camps
Art Camps are created around topics that I see groups of our members struggling with. They cover a range of topics that range from building confidence through mindset, or remembering how to have fun while me make art. You can always make requests!!!
Hear from an IGNITE! Member
~ Nicolette - from the Netherlands
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.
Gail is very generous and caring.
I've learned so much from it all!
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*This gets you the details when the membership opens. No obligation to sign up whatsovever.
Questions?
While IGNITE! has lots of good information for everyone, it is best suited for artists who have some knowledge and experience with pastels. Certainly, if you’ve gone through Gail’s course Pastels 101 (and I recommend that you do!!) then you’re ready for IGNITE! Having said that, most of the lessons relate to art-making in general so although I usually demo in soft pastels, please feel free to use any medium!
IGNITE! is a HUGE library of content to help artists become more skilled, engaged, and entertained. There are many types of content, here are some examples:
- Lessons related to a pastel technique or an art-making element
- Demos with voiceovers
- Critical looking at art from the past (and maybe some more current) that related to other lessons (often as a live session)
- Art critiques of members as a part of a theme or skill we’re working on.
- There are also fun BONUS Blind Dates if the month has an extra Sunday. This will be a surprise!
- We have random Pop-up Playtimes where we co-create together on Zoom
- And then there are the Art Camps – month-long experiences that replace the usual monthly schedule – to mix things up a bit!
Usually new things are released on Sundays. You can watch when you have time and at your convenience. It’s always there for you to dip into when you need a bit of inspiration and learning to warm the art fire!
We also have our private IGNITE! community – hearth of the home 😀
If you choose the monthly option, you’re free to cancel your membership at any time without penalty. (But you will lose your current member price if you decide to return at a later date.)
If you choose the annual option, it’s a full-on commitment to you and your art journey. You can try IGNITE! for 15 days and if it doesn’t suit you, you can get a refund. After 15 days, there is no refund. Just your total commitment to your success!
Great question! It’s perfect for you if you:
- want to move your artwork forward
- love the idea of getting to the heart of values
- feel overwhelmed by what to do next
- wish you could figure out how to use colour
- struggle with composition
- want to find a way of creating art regularly
- are stuck and need a breakthrough
- want to be part of a community of artists who help, encourage, support, and inspire one another in this art world
- want expert instruction from a master teacher who teaches, helps, and encourages you to develop your pastelling and art-making skills and to implement what you’ve learned.
There are no specific supplies but I do recommend that if you’re using soft pastels, you at least have a starter set of soft pastels. My own Unison Colour set of 36 pastels set is a great place to start! I will often use this set for demonstrating.
You should also have some sheets of neutral-coloured, mid-value Canson Mi-Teintes (“Felt Grey” is what I like to use), and some sheets of good quality paper made for pastels eg UART and Pastelmat.
You will also need a sketchbook (I like Bateman sketchbooks), HB and 4B pencils, and two markers – one 50% black and the other, a black).
I like vine charcoal, a 3H pencil, or a pastel pencil to draw up a subject on paper
I also recommend having a Colour Wheel and a View Finder.
Barrier cream is useful as are wet wipes.
I will always be specific about what materials I’m using when demoing.
You have full access to ALL content released inside the membership during your time as an Active Member in IGNITE! If you cancel your membership, however, you will no longer be able to access that content.
As this membership is all online, you will need reliable high-speed internet service. Most of the content is in video format plus there will be the occasional live session. You can watch from any device – desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
Each week, there will be new content that will run on average about an hour. You can watch this content at your convenience. The rest of the time, you’ll be free to paint 🙂 This is a membership where you can dip in and grab what you need. This is not a course with a beginning and end. You just go at your own pace. There’s no need to think about “falling behind!”
I also want to say that it’s through learning and then implementing – paint paint paint! – that you will move forward on your art journey!
As soon as you join!!!
When you purchase, you’ll receive TWO receipts (one from the Stripe payment platform and one from the GailSibleyArtSchool) plus an email with log-in details. Keep these somewhere safe. I also suggest you bookmark the login page in your browser.
Once you register and make your first payment, your credit card will be charged automatically each month (if you chose the Monthly Subscription) or annually (if you chose the Annual Plan).
The main thing is to make sure to remember to let me know if there are any changes with your credit card, for example your expiry date is updated OR your card changes completely!
There is so much for an Artist to gain in this Membership. Signing up today means you will hear when IGNITE! Opens and how it is helping so many artists flourish! I hope you are ready to join us in this fabulous, art-making, creative learning place!
Gail Sibley