It took two years for Canada-based artist Gail Sibley to select this carefully considered set of 36 Unison Soft Pastels. Her main aim was to put together a set that would give artists a range of colours that would allow them to address any subject including still life, landscape, abstract, and figurative pastel painting.
“Along my pastel journey, I became enamoured with a limited palette. I could see the benefit of using it in my own work – colour harmony, less time spent trying to pick the perfect colour, more experimentation and possibility with a restricted palette, fewer pastels to travel with.
“From the start, I wanted pastels of primaries and secondaries, and where possible and appropriate, warm and cool versions of each. Each colour would then have a light, middle, and dark value/tone where applicable. So I made my initial selection and went to work. And then came the months and months and months of trial and error.”
Born and brought up in Jamaica, Gail Sibley completed A-levels in England and then moved to Canada for a BFA (Fine Arts) and a Masters in Art History. Following university, she returned to her creative side. Experimenting with a small box of pastels, Gail was hooked by their vibrancy, immediacy, and luminosity.
Gail loves teaching and offers workshops around the world. She has also begun offering courses online. “My focus in teaching is to help artists see the potential in a limited palette of pastels. I passionately believe that understanding values will lead to freedom with colour. I also want to help painters discover and hone their own unique voice.”
This set contains the following 36 colours:
Blue Violet 12, Blue Violet 10, Blue Violet 8, Blue Green 8, Blue Green 9, Blue Green 11, Green 1, Green 26, Green 5, Green 14, Green 15, Green 33, Red 8, Red 9, Red 10, Red 5, Red 12, Red 13, Blue Violet 5, Blue Violet 4, Blue Violet 2, Grey 36, Grey 27, Blue Green Earth 16, Green 12, Brown Earth 12, Yellow 1, Yellow 9, Yellow 10, Yellow 12, Red 15, Red 16, Red 17, Additional 14, Additional 13, and Orange 3.
