There has to be more than this.
You know how to use acrylics but somewhere along the way, your work stopped exciting you. You're finishing paintings and feeling nothing. You're comparing yourself to artists whose work feels alive; layered and bold — and wondering what they know that you don't. You're not looking for another technique. You're looking for your artist self.
Experimental Still Life is where you start to find that version of you.
"This isn't about becoming the finished artist. It's about learning to inspire yourself — for life." - Gabriella Buckingham
I know what it feels like to wonder if you'll ever actually get there.
I spent fifteen years as a commercial illustrator — for greeting cards, editorial, and children's books; then for ten years I ran Moobaacluck, a children's illustrated gift business on Notonthehighstreet.com. It looked successful from the outside. One Christmas I worked from 8am to midnight, seven days a week, for over a month, hand-painting orders, my husband doing base coats beside me. When I looked at the numbers after costs, I was earning minimum wage.
That was the moment I saw it clearly. I hadn't built something that wasn't working, it just wasn't something I wanted to make work enough.
In 2018 I began, finally, becoming the artist I always knew I was. It was messier than that sounds. In 2020, during covid, I was working three days a week in a supermarket while slowly building a life as a fine artist. That same year I devised Experimental Still Life — not from a place of having arrived, but from the middle of figuring it out. In 2021 a painting of mine was accepted into the Royal Academy, in 2023 two paintings were chosen for the RA Summer Exhibition and were published for their shop as a card and print; a year later one of these still life paintings was included in the 2025 RA calendar.
What kept me going was this: my absolute passion for painting and the total joy of manifesting something that appeared as if by magic. That feeling is worth every failure and every dead end...which I still get!
I've learned they're just part of being an artist, and so will you.
I built Experimental Still Life from everything I learned on that journey — about painting, yes, but more importantly about what it takes to find yourself in your work.
What about you?
...and what you need is to go deep. To immerse yourself. Give yourself time to make detours and experiments, to explore your own potential. I will show you different ways of thinking about your work that will spark you into discovering what YOU want to paint and how you want to paint. Importantly, giving you the skills to inspire yourself to change. To keep changing. For the rest of your artistic life.
"I learned so many important things in your class, but I think the most important one is that I feel confident that with some hard work and really trying to hone in on who the heck I even am and what I really want to do, I have a chance at actually being a decent painter. I don't really know how to express how much this has meant to me!"
What would it feel like to be itching to get into the studio every day —
to know what you'd do when you got there, and how to trust your process even when you weren't quite sure
...And this is what happens on the other side
Students who have worked through Experimental Still Life have gone on to sell their work, show in galleries, and build collections they're genuinely proud of. Some were already selling when they started — and still found that ESL shifted something fundamental in how they paint and how they feel about their work. Several are now teaching in person, sharing what they discovered with students of their own. This is not a course that gives you a style. It's a course that helps you uncover a process — one you will return to, build on, and make entirely your own for the rest of your painting life.
Eight modules
Module 1 — Let's Draw Exploratory drawing techniques, mindset and inspiration. Where it all begins — and where most artists discover they've been holding themselves back without realising it.
Module 2 — Composition and Colour Values, mixing and spatial awareness. The foundation that makes everything else click into place.
Module 3 — Let's Explore Adventures into backgrounds, painting techniques and tools. This is where things start to get surprising.
Module 4 — Everyone Can Paint a Lemon Observational painting in ways you won't expect, plus stylisation. Yes, there will be lemons
Module 5 — Painting from the Inside Out Working from imagination through exercises designed to stretch you beyond what you think you're capable of.
Module 6 — Let's Abstract Discover how — and whether — abstraction belongs in your work, through exercises that let you find out for yourself.
Module 7 — Let's Go Big Learn what changes as you start to scale your work.
Module 8 — Practical Tips Photography, varnishing, selling your work, and studio practice.
Throughout this experience you can ask me anything you like, privately, one to one through the chat here on the course platform. It may be a self paced course but you aren't alone.
ESL is for you if...
You use acrylics but haven't yet found what YOU want to do with them
You're an artist with real skills — but somewhere along the way the joy got quieter and the doubt got louder
You look at your work and think "is this it? There has to be more" and you're ready to find out what that is
You're curious about how I paint and want a genuine peek inside my process, not a polished performance
You want fresh ideas to respond to, not fixed outcomes to recreate
You're bored or stuck and you know the answer isn't another technique class
You're a professional artist craving a completely new way of working
You'd love to immerse yourself in still life but don't know where to begin — or you work abstractly and want a way in that honours that
You want something with enough content to keep you inspired for years, not a course you'll exhaust in a weekend
You want to go at your own pace, privately, but with direct personal access to me
You'd love feedback on your work in a small, genuinely supportive group of artists
ESL is not for you if…
You want to learn oil painting — this course is only for acrylics
You've never painted at all...although brave beginners are very welcome, just ask questions as you go
You’re looking for a paint-by-numbers process to recreate my work (this is about unlocking your creativity, rather than copying mine)
You never want to work from life — while we explore imagination, we begin with observation
You need transcripts as these are not included
You prefer minimal video content — there are over 100 videos.
Even though this course is self-paced, you’re not on your own.
You can message me directly — at any time — through the chat bubble inside the platform. I’m the only person who sees these messages, and I’ll respond personally. There’s no time limit on this support.
You’ll also see exactly how I paint — in real time — with my full thought process shared as I work. This is an intimate, honest experience that supports your own artistic growth, with plenty of aha moments along the way.
"Honestly this is the best course I’ve ever done, so thank you so much."
— Liz
Your confidence as an artist will skyrocket — you’ll always have a way into your painting, even when you feel stuck
Your mindset will shift: you'll appreciate your uniqueness more, compare yourself less, and likely discover whole new directions in your work
You’ll understand how to revisit and strengthen a painting — refining colour, composition, and energy as your skills deepen
You’ll feel safe to experiment, knowing that change isn't chaos — it comes from clarity, and that builds self-belief
You’ll have a clearer, braver story to share about your work — and more trust in your voice
You'll be far more fulfilled and you may even have sold a few paintings along the way!
Your practical knowledge of acrylic will expand — you’ll feel at home experimenting
You’ll start to notice your own process and preferences — and this will unlock even more confidence
You might even find yourself teaching others, or feeling inspired to share more publicly
You’ll have completed several paintings you’re proud of — and some may even sell while you're still in the course
(I can’t guarantee sales, but when you're proud and visible, it’s very possible. And it's an incredible feeling when your joy moves someone enough to invest in it.)
While I hope you won’t need external validation, earning income from your art can be both nourishing and affirming
You’ll be Brave in Paint — no matter what
You’ll know: it’s just paint. It’s not to be feared — not exploring is the real risk.
This courage will spill into your life beyond the canvas. Friends and family will notice the shift in you.
What artists are saying
Join Experimental Still Life
Lifetime access to all 8 modules, 100+ videos, printable guides for every module, and direct personal support from Gabriella, available to you for as long as you need it.
A process you will return to, build on, and make entirely your own for years to come.
Changed your mind? No problem at all — just message me within 7 days of purchasing and I'll refund you in full, no questions asked.
After 7 days I'm unable to offer refunds, and if you've chosen the two payment option, both payments are required to complete your purchase.
If you have any doubts before buying, please reach out first. I'd genuinely love to help you decide whether this is the right fit — and I only want people in this course who are truly ready for it.
You have lifetime access, so there's no pressure to race through anything.
That said, you will need to invest real time to get real results. This isn't a fast course. It's an ideas-packed, inspiration-dense experience designed to spark and strengthen your own process over time.
Delve deeply into whatever appeals to you, that's how you find your voice. Depending on how much you explore, there's genuinely 8 months to 2 years of material here. Many students are still revisiting it after 1 to 3 years.
Start sequentially in the early modules, then pick what resonates and return to the rest later. That's actually how you discover your own process — by following your own curiosity through it.
The full list is here — but don't let it overwhelm you.
It's likely you already have most of what you need, and I'd always advise buying what excites you as you go rather than stocking up in advance.
Not at all. Feel free to quietly work on the course alone. You can message me privately, via the chat facility when you are logged in, if you need support at any time.
If, however, you would like feedback on your work you would need to post it in the group space here at Braveinpaint.com. Join at any point. Details of the group are in the Housekeeping lesson.
Lifetime access means for as long as I'm running this course — and I intend to be doing exactly that for the next 10 to 20 years.
The students who've had access for years tell me they're still finding new things in it. That's the kind of course this is.
If I ever move platforms, I'll bring you with me and give you several months notice in advance. If I make updates to the course, you'll hear about those by email too.
One thing, make sure you're subscribed to emails in your profile area so you don't miss important updates.
Not in the slightest.
You can watch all the material when you like and contact me when it suits you. I will reply as soon as possible.
If something in you is stirred by what you’ve seen and read here, trust that.
You don’t need to feel like you know exactly what you are doing.
Just be willing to make the leap, and be open to where it might lead.