About the Course
In Memory into Still Life, John Button and Nellie Shepherd take you step by step through John's full painting process, from preparing your board to adding the final touches. Along the way you’ll learn how to design strong compositions, choose and harmonise colours with confidence, and apply paint with skill and freedom. This online course gives you practical tools and professional insight so you can create still life paintings that feel both resolved and personal.
Module Content:
Collecting your Primary Source
Nellie and John explore the beautiful garden and interior spaces at Bullclough, gathering flowers, vases, and unusual objects to inspire their still life paintings.Â
From Object to Image
Using their still life objects, Nellie and John complete a series of warm-up exercises to loosen up and become familiar with the shapes, colours, and patterns of their arrangements.
Composition is Key
John explores the principles of composition, sharing practical tips, common pitfalls, and the compositional devices he uses to create strong still life paintings.
Board Preparation
Learn four different approaches to preparing your painting surface as Nellie and John demonstrate gesso, coloured grounds, underdrawing and collage.
Colour: Harmonious Muck
Nellie discusses John’s approach to colour, examining his palette before demonstrating a simple mixing technique that helps create rich, harmonious colours.
Paint Application
Nellie and John demonstrate how different brushes, mark-making tools, and methods of paint application can dramatically influence the character of a painting.
The Painting Process
Follow John as he completes a series of three still life paintings from start to finish, with live commentary explaining his techniques, observations and decision-making.Â
Finishing Touches
Nellie and John reflect on the strengths of the completed still life paintings before discussing the finishing touches, such as signing and varnishing work.
Still Life into Memory
ÂŁ175
- Over 3.5 hours of expert tuition
- Complete still life demonstration from start to finish, with live commentary
- Unlimited lifetime access
- Downloadable PDF's
- Pause replay and learn at your own pace
- Suitable for all levels
- Exclusive Student CommunityÂ
What our students are saying...
Discover how this still life course has inspired other artists - from beginners to professionals.
Meet the Artists:Â
Nellie Shepherd
Our Co-Founder, Nellie Shepherd, is an award-winning artist, educator and tutor represented by Clare Conville Curtis Brown. She is the author of several internationally published art books with Penguin and has exhibited with the Chelsea Art Society, the St Ives Society of Artists, and galleries across the UK. Through Bullclough Art School, Nellie has inspired thousands of artists to develop confidence, embrace experimentation and discover their own creative voice.
John Button
John Button is an artist and tutor whose expressive paintings explore landscape, seascape and still life through colour, pattern and texture. His work seeks to evoke memory and a sense of place, often setting aside conventional perspective to reveal the extraordinary within everyday surroundings. Through his teaching at Bullclough Art School, John encourages students to paint with confidence, embrace experimentation and develop their own unique visual language.
