Gail Sibley - Pastels | 5-12 October 2025
£2,500 per person
Early bird discount of £120 if you pay in full before 31st December 2024.
Maximum 10 painters.
Gail Sibley is a popular workshop instructor and has been a professional artist for more than 30 years. She delights equally in the experience of painting from life and painting from reference photos and sketches in the studio. Her work is characterised by bold colour achieved with a limited palette.
A traveller at heart, Gail offers workshops internationally with a focus on how understanding values leads to freedom with colour. She guides participants to hone their unique artistic voice. She’s offered painting retreats in Croatia, Spain, England, Italy, New Zealand, France, Costa Rica, and Australia. How wonderful to now add Greece to that list!
Born and brought up in Jamaica, Gail Sibley moved to Canada to complete a BFA (Fine Arts) followed by a MA in art history. Gail participates in national and international juried shows and has won various awards. Her work is in private and corporate collections in several countries. She’s a Signature Member with the Pastel Society of America (PSA), a Master Pastellist with Pastel Artists Canada (MPAC) and part of the IAPS Master Circle (IAPS/MC)
Gail shares her knowledge in a highly-regarded blog at How To Pastel and can be seen on YouTube. She also offers online courses and has an online membership. She revels in working one-to-one with students in Accelerant, her six-month premium mentoring programme.
About the workshop from Gail
In this crazy, busy world, sometimes what we need is to take time out in a beautiful location to slow down and refresh our creative soul and this painting retreat in Corfu is bound to do the trick!! With everything taken care of (gorgeous accommodations, delicious meals, inspiring excursions), all you need to do is learn, paint, eat, sip, laugh, and enjoy! Our time will be split between the studio and painting en plein air. Our painting locations may include a vineyard, an ancient village, waterfalls in the forest, an olive grove with stone ruins, and boats in a quaint harbour. We’ll be spoilt for choice!!
There’s nothing easy about painting on location - it is a challenge! - but there’s also nothing quite like it for learning how to paint better and for feeling vibrantly alive! Painting “en plein air” means being fully present to the experience of painting on location. As you observe and paint, every sight, sound, smell, and experience in the environment becomes part of your painting. That’s part of the joy that comes with working from life rather than a photo. Working on location creates a deeper connection with your environment - you will always remember the experience when you look at your sketch or painting.
My goal during this workshop will be to help you develop your confidence and skill in being able to capture some vital part of the landscape that speaks to you. I’ll give LOTS of one-on-one guidance on location and in the studio and demo as needed.
We’ll gather as a group at the end of the day to discuss the day’s paintings, perhaps over a glass of wine.
My teaching style is to pass on what I know while at the same time encouraging the emergence of your own voice. It’s all easy-going and supportive with plenty of room for laughter and fun! This is a time to make some awesome memories!
The workshop is suitable for all levels but some experience with drawing and soft pastels is required. Can’t wait to meet you in the warm embrace of Corfu!
In this Art Retreat Workshop you will:
Understand how to select a scene to paint
Create thumbnails and come to understand their importance in making a strong painting
Develop intentionality in painting
Learn how to use a limited palette
Explore ways to make bold colour choices
Experiment with underpainting colours as a way to change the mood and feel of a painting
Feel more comfortable painting en plein air
Become more confident about expressing your own artistic voice
Be supported to respond from your heart and soul
Have fun!
What is included?
8 nights accommodation and 7 days tuition
Transfers from and to the airport (pick up will be at 3pm at Corfu airport on October 5 unless otherwise advised)
Transfers to all painting venues and excursions
Breakfast, snack/picnic lunch, dinner wth wine
Greek evening with dinner and live entertainment
Meal at a local taverna in Old Perithia the oldest village on the island
Wine tour and tasting with meze at Corfu’s oldest family-run wine estate
Itinerary will be flexible subject to the weather
A list of materials to bring will be sent out at least two months before the workshop.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Kate at corfuincolour@gmail.com
A sampling of love notes from previous holiday painting workshop students:
“Gail offers excellent instruction and positive reinforcement in a calm and sometimes funny way. Do it!”
~ Jody T
“Gail is a warm and generous teacher. She has a structured style which ensures that when the steps are followed you get results! Whilst plein air painting, Gail constantly checks on each pupil and gives constructive advice. Her daily review of our work was a valuable critique.”
~ Christine L
“I am eternally grateful for your teachings during our art workshop in Tuscany. With very little experience in plein air painting I had always been completely overwhelmed when it came to painting outdoors and by trying to paint everything, all I was left with was a muddy jumble. Your approach made it completely doable. I can highly recommend your workshops for artists of all levels.”
~ Val W
“I joined the Tasmania 10-day workshop to learn in the intensive workshop environment. My expectations were that Gail would be as good a teacher as in her online classes and I wasn’t disappointed. She explains her unique approach in a concise and engaging way. Quite a few of us had several ‘aha’ moments as we put these concepts into practice. She is an encouraging and responsive teacher, and I found the workshop to be of great value in my painting journey.”
~ Judi Moncur
“Gail is an excellent teacher. Really learnt a lot and enjoyed her inclusive style.”
~ Lea Symonds
Reserve your spot now
Select your bedroom of choice and if you will be sharing with a participating friend or partner.
On this workshop, due to limited space, we are unable to offer places to non-participating partners.
You will pay a £250 non-refundable deposit (unless we cancel for any reason) to secure your place and the invoice for the remaining balance will be sent to your email at least 3 months before the start of the workshop.
If you are taking advantage of the early bird discount of £120, please secure your spot by paying the £250 deposit, an invoice will be sent and payment in full must be made before 31st December 2024, otherwise the payment will be the full price of the workshop.
For booking terms and conditions, click here.
For more information about the bedrooms, click here.
If you have any questions, please contact Kate.
Gail Sibley - Pastels | 5-12 October 2025
£2,500 per person