I’m not going to mislead you, staying the course of a 31-day problem isn’t simple. However having executed our 31-pastels-in-31-days Problem for seven (!) years in a row, I now know that there’s a rhythm to it, a rhythm to the problem.
Let’s take a look at that rhythm and the way it pertains to the work I did this 12 months. Though I’ve been posting my work from the Problem on my Instagram and Facebook accounts, it’s possible you’ll not have seen my Problem physique of labor but. I’ve had curious requests to see all of the work!
Table of Contents
Concerning the 31-in-31 Problem
The problem is a couple of every day observe. Each day work means taking motion which implies shifting ahead. I feel success on this 31-in-31 Problem is placing pastel to paper every day. This implies letting go of a hoped for or anticipated end result, specifically a completed portray that makes you smile and garners likes from pals and followers. It means being glad with (and studying from) each mark you make. Each mark you make is a mark greater than you probably did yesterday.
A part of what helps us transfer by means of the Problem is the corporate we preserve – being accountable to somebody or a bunch (just like the HowToPastelFacebook group). One other half is the dedication to ourselves, to provide ourself permission and encouragement to color each day for 31 days.
The Rhythm of the Problem
That is the rhythm of the problem for me however I feel it could be true for a lot of contributors.
Typically once we begin the Problem we’re gung ho! Sure! Let’s do that!! We now have a dedication to do that factor! And so for per week or so we dive in with power and enthusiasm and paint every day. Across the finish of the first week or 10 days in, all of it begins to get a bit more durable. We’ve misplaced that preliminary thrust of energy that we had at first of the Problem. I feel that is the time some contributors could also be tempted to surrender. However for many who push by means of, will probably be price it.
By the finish of thesecond week going into the third week, the factor that may assist preserve you heading in the right direction is the wall behind you. That is the place you see work accumulating whether or not completed or not, profitable or not. It’s an enormous motivator to maintain going. And by now, we want all the assistance we are able to get!
Typically the problem means placing different issues on the again burner. It means sacrificing different issues to make room for this every day portray observe. The rhythm of the Problem means maybe others should assume among the duties, duties, errands which might be usually ours. We might begin to really feel responsible about that or use it as an excuse to stop the Problem. But it is a present from those that love us and are supporting our determination to do the 31–in-31 Problem and we owe it to their generosity to maintain going! So we push on!
Typically life intercedes and it actually can get troublesome to place pastel to paper. I definitely had that occur a couple of instances throughout the 31-day rhythm of the problem. However I discovered methods to work round or with these life interludes. It’s simple to make use of these as an excuse to overlook a couple of days. The factor is that every piece you do doesn’t should be massive. It may be small, quick, livid, merely marks. So no excuses!
And that final week – the place does it match into the rhythm of the problem? We get a surge of yes-I-can power to finish the course. Now shouldn’t be the time to stop, that’s what we inform ourselves. We’ve come too far to surrender now! Now we all know what we’re able to and we need to show to ourselves that we are able to certainly full the 31-day Problem.
My Work Inside The Rhythm of the Problem
So let me take you thru a few of my items and share how they relate to the rhythm I’ve simply described. (Most items are nonetheless obtainable from me. On the finish of subsequent week, various them will head to Peninsula Gallery. If you happen to’re curious about any, simply let me know!)
Initially, I wasn’t even certain I used to be going to do the Problem this 12 months as fairly a bit was happening. However as the beginning day neared, I reminded myself what a helpful and satisfying expertise it’s. Cam and I have been on Salt Spring Island staying at a pal’s home. Since I wasn’t in my studio, I made a decision to work en small plein air (from life) on small items. Positively feeling rusty at first!
(By the best way, all of those photos have been taken with my iPhone so will not be as correct as they may very well be.)
Gail Sibley, “The Two of Us,” Unison Color pastels on UART 600, 5 1/2 x 8 1/4in. Obtainable. $250. The 2 roses, one on its method out, one nearly to open, caught my consideration. Nevertheless it was the graphic simplicity of darkish leaves and their corresponding forged shadow that stopped me to color. I wished to maintain a unfastened abstracted high quality to the piece.
Gail Sibley, “Poppy Riot,” Unison Color pastels on UART 600, 7 1/2 x 5 1/4 in. Obtainable. $225. Tough factor with California Poppies- the flowers and foliage, though totally different in hue, are very related in worth! So the worth distinction must be “discovered” elsewhere.
Gail Sibley, “Calm As Can Be,” Unison Color pastels on UART 600, 4 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. Obtainable. $150. A really excessive key portray and a superb check for my set of Unison Color pastels! There was a slight pinky yellow that contrasted with the turquoise blue, so enjoyable to play with!
Gail Sibley, “Final Gentle, Final Night time,” Unison Color pastels on UART 600, 8 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. Obtainable. $225.
Again house within the consolation of my studio, I jumped proper into persevering with my Canine Walker sequence. I’d been wanting ahead to engaged on these for someday. There are a LOT of individuals strolling their canines right here in my neighbourhood and in Victoria usually!
Gail Sibley, Final Stroll (Canine Walker sequence), Unison Color pastels on UART 400, 6 x 6 in. Obtainable. $225. Whereas I used to be portray this, an expensive pal handed away in hospital. Bettie was a canine lover and I really feel this portray of a determine (albeit a person) and canine companion strolling in direction of the sunshine expresses one thing of her journey to a different risk of existence.
Gail Sibley, “Heading House After Play (Canine Walker sequence),” Unison Color pastels on UART 400, 6 x 6 in. Obtainable. $225. I’ve a favorite stroll I do after I go to the library on Saturday afternoons. This time, I met a person and his canine on the pedestrian crossing. They’d simply come from enjoying ball on the seashore. I beloved the sensation of companionship and in addition the sidelight.
Gail Sibley, “Threesome (Canine Walker sequence),” Unison Color pastels on UART 400, 6 x 6 in. Obtainable. $225. Night begins and this man and his canine head house earlier than full darkish falls. I preferred the symmetry of man, canine, and bicycle. Additionally what attracted me was the light-coloured canine towards the darkly dressed man each set off towards a greying panorama besides the place the solar nonetheless may attain.
Gail Sibley, “The Orange Coat (Canine Walker sequence),” Unison Color pastels on UART 400, 6 x 6 in. Obtainable. $225. Fairly than use the boring colors within the reference picture, and following my thumbnail worth plan, I began in with intense colors and determined to maintain them that method fairly than boring them. Love the best way this got here out!
Gail Sibley, “Heading For The Hydrant (Canine Walker sequence),” Unison Color pastels on UART 500 paper, 6 x 6 in. Obtainable $225. One other canine walker, this time full with umbrella on a moist day. I beloved that the canine was heading for the hydrant – typical canine behaviour lol. I couldn’t resist!
Then lastly I used to be prepared to begin portray extra work within the Gallery Goer sequence. That is, for certain, a ardour topic of mine. I really like portray an individual a portray and discovering and expressing one thing visible that connects them.
Gail Sibley, “Stripes and Checks (Gallery Goers sequence),” Unison Color on UART 400, 12 x 8 in. Obtainable. $600. I’ve been wanting to do that for someday (my thumbnail for it was executed final October). My hesitation was across the regularity of the stripes of this portray by Gene Davis within the Utah Museum of Positive Arts which I’d visited in March 2020 simply because the pandemic was introduced. I used to be attracted by the determine, stopped mid-track. So I made a decision simply to go for it. I feel the irregularity of the pastel stripes offers curiosity.
Gene Davis, “Jasmine Sidewinder #91,” 1969, acrylic, 116 x 59 in, Utah Museum of Artwork, Sslt Lake Metropolis, Utah, USA.
Gail Sibley, “The Breath of Thought (Gallery Goers sequence),” Unison Color on UART 400, 8 x 12 in. Obtainable. $600. I beloved this sculpture by Roberto Almagno within the Vatican Museums. (I’ve used his title for my portray.) There’s a simplicity but complexity in his work, a strong sturdiness mixed with a lightness. The shadows on the wall change because the curve and thickness of a bit of wooden modified. The sculpture additionally transfer barely which additionally shifted the shadow shapes. It was troublesome to seize the piece and the sentiments I had concerning the sculpture in my pastel portray!
Gail Sibley, “Black Hats (Gallery Goer sequence),” Unison Color pastels on UART 500, 10 x 10 in. Obtainable. $625. Ever since I noticed this man this portray by Klimt at an exhibition of Klimt’s work on the San Francisco Legion of Honor a couple of years in the past, I’ve wished to color this scene. (Within the reference picture, the person is definitely wanting on the label so I pushed him over a bit!). I used to be drawn to the similarity of the 2 hats of viewer and portray topic in addition to the connection in colur of clothes.
Gail Sibley, “The Purple Circle,” Unison Color pastels on UART 320, 8 x 12 in. Obtainable. $600. I really like that the purple circle in Miro’s portray is the factor we see on this boy’s telephone. I wished to make Miro’s portray the star of this piece after which have the second purple circle (and figures) seen secondarily.
Joan Miró, “Determine in Entrance of the Solar,” 1968, acrylic on canvas, 174 x 260 cm, Miro Basis, Barcelona, Spain.
Gail Sibley, “Capturing Beatrice (Gallery Goer sequence),” Unison Color pastels on UART 500, 10 x 10 in. Obtainable. $625. I’ve seemed ahead to portray this topic for some time now. (I used to be within the Uffizi in 2019 which is the place I snapped the picture.) What attracted me was the connection between the 2 ladies. Though centuries aside, I discovered similarities – the flowery coiffure/headdress, the ornamental clothes, and the depth of wanting. After which there’s the ever present smartphone that reveals the Rennaissance mannequin by means of the lens of the twenty first century!
Attributed to Alessandro Araldi, “Portrait of Beatrice d’Este,” c.1495, oil on panel, measurement unknown, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
I’m on the finish of two weeks and beginning to lose enthusiasm even whereas doing the work I like to do. The every day muscle is off form and feeling exhausted! It was time to alter issues up a bit and get a bit looser. (The Gallery Goers, as fabulous as they’re to do, take plenty of focus, care, and power.)
Gail Sibley, “Two Bushes,” Unison Color pastels on UART 500, 6×9 in. Obtainable $325. I used to be going to work on one other Gallery Goer portray however time was quick and inform you the reality, I used to be weary and never feeling like portray in a cautious and thought of method. Soooo I placed on the music and simply went for it!!
Gail Sibley, “Quiet Afternoon in Trequanda, Tuscany,” Unison Color pastels on UART 500, 8 3/4 x 5 3/4 in. Obtainable. $295. I began this piece a few years in the past, acquired it drawn up, and made a begin with a partial first layer down. I can’t keep in mind what made me cease however as I used to be in search of paper to make use of, I got here throughout it. It was an ideal break from figurative work!
Gail Sibley, “View from Songhees Walkway,” Victoria, Unison Color pastels on UART 400, 4 x 11 in. Obtainable $225. Cam and I took a leisurely stroll on a record-breaking temperature day – the very best since 1961. It was gloriously heat however with a coolness that comes from being by the water. This was an try and seize the late afternoon view of the top of Victoria Harbour from the Songhees Walkway.
Gail Sibley, “Shade!,” Unison Color pastels on UART 400, 4 ¾ x 4 ½ in. Obtainable $100. There’s a photograph I’ve used for various small items and today, eager to do a small and easy piece of timber, I reached for it as soon as once more. Time was quick so I labored small and quick! 30 minutes from discovering the picture, making a few fast thumbnails and diving in with pastels!
Gail Sibley, “Glads at Rio Chirripo Lodge,” Unison Color pastels on UART 400, 6¾ x 4 ½ in. Obtainable $150. Recollections of the attractive communal space on the Rio Chirripo Lodge the place a bunch of us stayed after I taught a vacation spot workshop in Costa Rica in February. Flowers are all the time on show. The lodge is an ideal place to spend per week of portray, educating, and consuming!
After which a little bit of life occurred. Cam and I took my Dad and Mum up island to go to with my brother and his spouse (to rejoice my Dad’s 93rd birthday 😀 ). I took my pastels however had pared down, no easel as an example. I additionally determined to problem myself by utilizing a small set of Sennelier pastels that I wasn’t accustomed to. Ohhhh, I undoubtedly had some irritating moments however I simply stored going! I had little time and labored sitting down (fairly than my normal standing pose) so it was all very difficult. I labored from life and from pictures. All items have been small!
Gail Sibley, “Folded Towels,” Sennelier pastels on UART 600, 4 x 5 ½ in. Painted from life. Obtainable $85. I spent the weekend with household, staying at my brother’s and sister-in-law’s home. I snuck off to the basement to work on my 31-in-31 work. What to color? I noticed these two folded towels sitting on a ping pong desk. There wasn’t a lot gentle however fairly than spending extra time wanting, I simply acquired right down to work! Course of, not end result!!
Gail Sibley, “Bushes at Sundown,” Sennelier pastels on UART 600, 5 ½ x 4 in. Painted from life. Obtainable $75. Again within the basement, in desperation, I seemed out the window and there have been a few timber tipped by the disappearing solar. That was it. Quick and livid!!
Gail Sibley, “Nokia Historic Society Assembly,” Sennelier pastels on UART 600, 4 x 5 ½ in. Obtainable $85. Sitting on the windowsill within the basement have been three previous telephones lined up collectively. A bit boring so why not give them a attempt. The neat factor is that after I seemed extra deeply and actually noticed what was there, I smiled on the small variations that may make the portray extra attention-grabbing each to do and to have a look at. Thanks for the title Brett!
Gail Sibley, “Calliope,” Sennelier pastels on UART 600, 4 x 5 ½ in. Obtainable $85. On the patio, a pot of geraniums (pelargoniums). This one is an ideal purple and my sister-in-law’s fav.
Gail Sibley, “Walkies!,” Sennelier pastels on UART 600, 3 ½ x 2 ½ in. Obtainable $50. A really small piece! Beloved the sample of sunshine and acquired caught in even with solely 20 minutes. Fast thumbnail to familiarize myself with the topic after which GO!
Again house, it was the final week of the Problem – yay! The rhythm of the problem was a burst of power to complete! I did a few smaller items earlier than blasting into three extra Gallery Goer work. And at last, I wished to ensure to incorporate a bit with laundry as I’m recognized for my love of clotheslines crammed with folks’s lives as seen by means of their garments, mattress linen and towels, and intimate attire.
Gail Sibley, “Purple Night,” Unison Color pastels on UART 320, 6 x 6 in. That is from a photograph I took from my pal Sandy’s home on Salt Spring Island. It was nightfall, nonetheless with color within the sky and water however the solar was lengthy gone. I’ve been wanting to color it for a while and so the Problem was an ideal time to play with it. I envisioned a bit with purples and greens.
Gail Sibley, “White Jug with Flowers,” Unison Color pastels on UART 400, 4 ½ x 4 ½ in. Obtainable. $100. I had a brief period of time however that wasn’t an excuse. Utilizing a stunning picture I’d taken at Mum and Dad’s, I made a thumbnail and was offt! Regardless that I didn’t have the fitting pink in my palette (for the flowers), that didn’t cease me!
Gail Sibley, “Selfie with Ladies, Birds, (Gallery Goers sequence),” Unison Color pastels on UART 320, 10 x 10 in. Obtainable $625. After I taught a vacation spot retreat workshop on the coast of Spain, I headed to Barcelona for some “me” time. I adored the Miro Basis and plenty of of my Gallery Goer work have been set on this fantastic museum. I smiled after I noticed this man attempting to take a selfie with this gigantic piece by Miró!
Gail Sibley, “Mom and Son with The Lark’s Wing (Gallery Goers sequence),” Unison Color pastels on UART 500, 12 x 8 in. Obtainable $600. I used to be hesitant to do that scene with figures dealing with the viewer. However I so beloved the pose, the targeted and intimate connection between what seems like a mom together with her son. I additionally love how the purple and white seen within the portray is repeated within the boy’s shirt.
Gail Sibley, “Going through Fragonard (Gallery Goers sequence),” Unison Color pastels on UART 500, 10 x 10 in. Obtainable. $625. It’s a lot concerning the pose! This time it’s not solely the Gallery Goer’s pose but additionally the lounging determine in Fragonard’s portray. Capturing each males, their gestures and positions proved difficult. I beloved it!
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, “Portrait of Charles-Michel-Ange Challe (?),“ c. 1769, oil on canvas, 93.8 x 73.8 cm, The Cambó Bequest, Nationwide Musuem of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
Gail Sibley, “The Laundry Line,” Unison Color pastels on UART 500, 6 x 6 in. Obtainable. $175. That is painted from a small a part of a photograph I took whereas whizzing alongside in a automobile in Ontario. (And no, I wasn’t driving!). I’m a lover of laundry on the road so I snapped a photograph of a clothesline within the distance.
And in case you’re truly counting the items and located there’s one lacking, you’re right. One in all my 31-in-31 days was spent making a Lesson for my IGNITE! Members (and we’re reopening on twentieth November so get on the Waitlist here!). I made a decision to incorporate that as one in all my Problem items.
Gail Sibley – An train executed for my IGNITE! members on stress! Unison Color pastels on Canson Mi-Teintes paper
The 31-in-31 Problem affords so many advantages. Understanding the pure rhythm of the problem permits us to go simpler on ourselves particularly when issues get robust. I hope you’ll attempt the Problem subsequent 12 months with us!
Listed below are among the largest takeaways from this 12 months’s contributors:
“My finest takeaway is the inside push I really feel to do a portray each day. As soon as I join, I really feel responsible (to myself, nobody else), if I haven’t executed one! November 1st dawned and all day I felt relieved that I didn’t HAVE TO paint, however the guilt was nonetheless there, lol. Seeing the others’ work was nice too. I did your very 1st one, 6 years in the past. Nonetheless enjoyable. Thanks!”
~ Barbara Archer
“I take advantage of it as a possibility to attempt new issues. One 12 months was determining my Christmas card photos, one was doing lengthy skinny bookmarks and this 12 months was working up the nerve to attempt portraits. Realizing that I’m simply playing around with new concepts and methods takes that perfectionism stress off.”
~ Stephanie Colotti
“Having the motivation of being a part of a bunch problem and so getting pastel to paper. Each portray is a studying expertise. Therefore, the extra incessantly you paint, the extra you study!”
~ Joanna Grey
“The largest takeaway was the self-discipline to color each day whether or not it was massive or small.”
~ Rosie Coleman
“Making an attempt totally different approaches, and in addition having a month’s work to look again on has helped me consider what I actually take pleasure in doing and given me some concepts for future work. Better of all I’ve loved the group interplay. I’ve learnt from, and been impressed by, different folks’s work in addition to my very own.”
~ Judith Turner
“My largest takeaway is the discharge from my thought that all the pieces I paint needs to be ok to share. The push to share every day, no matter whether or not I used to be happy with the portray, was such a reduction. It gave me the liberty to let go and simply paint. It additionally stored me from countless fiddling. Realizing that I used to be going to put up the portray earlier than the day was out made me cease messing and overworking. Beloved this problem!”
~ Barbara Garwood
“For me, it was the belief that each day does provide some alternative for artwork, even when only some minutes.”
~ Gail Gudrun Helgason
Aren’t these nice?! Having the HTP Facebook group undoubtedly stored many people on monitor – realizing we would have liked to put up one thing on the finish of the day retains us on track. Group accountability is a big a part of our success! As is the encouragement and suggestions we get from fellow contributors. You’ll discover plenty of this in IGNITE! An Art-Making membership so be sure to join the waitlist. We open on the twentieth November!
I might LOVE to listen to your ideas concerning the Problem. If you happen to participated this 12 months, do you resonate with my rhythm of the Problem? Or was your expertise fully totally different?
If you happen to didn’t take part this time, inform me in case you’re tempted to hitch us subsequent 12 months. Additionally, in case you’ve executed different kinds of challenges, do you’re feeling the rhythm of the problem I laid out interprets over to your problem? Let me know within the feedback!
Till subsequent time!
Gail
PS. If you happen to’re curious about any of my work and have questions or want to buy, do e-mail me.
