English Coach for Artists and Designers

Behind the Scenes of an English Coaching for Artists 

I’m an English coach for artists and designers. 

I help artists, designers and creative thinkers be strong in English, particularly to advance their creative careers.

Formerly, I had a career as an installation artist and Art School teacher.

I keep my creative skills sharp with a regular life drawing class, only last night was the final session of this semester.

It’s something I really enjoy, and as I realised that I was going to miss it, I began thinking about the peculiar relationship each drawer has to the model.

It’s not a collaboration, but is it just a ‘service’? (Something about the word seems too clinical).

And an English coach for artists and designers,  do I offer a service – or something more?

Images: Last night we did about 10 x 2-minute poses, then moved into a couple at 10, then 3 at 15.

My final 4 are pictured here.

A Quick Intro to Life Drawing/Modeling

Life modelling is a real skill.

Many laypeople think it is just sitting still, naked.

First off, sitting still is hard (and for many, so is being nude).

You also need physical fitness to hold odd poses and a certain awareness of how your body looks within a room, as well as which poses make it most interesting for artists to draw.

Many life models are artists or dancers, but not all.

The 4 our group uses regularly are all professional artist models.

Working with a good life model doesn’t make me a better artist, but they sure have a rare combination of attitude and talent that allows me to be the artist I am capable of being.

About Services

We all have people who lend/hire their time and skills to help us be great at what we do. (Counselling… service, accountancy… service).

But it seems wrong to say ‘service’ for something that shapes your output – and life models are quite literally painted into the results.

English coaching is a service in that together we set goals.

I enable you to do X,Y & Z in English.

But this definition implies any ELT coach (even Duolingo) would get the same results but I know that’s not the case.

There’s More than a System

Every good teacher gives parts of themselves when they help.

Those particular aspects of what we have to share are what make us unique.

This is what makes me opposed to corporate language schools and online learning platforms, which profit from taking all that good juice out of teachers while paying them as if they were interchangeable.

They give their clients a cool, clearly defined service.

As independents, we give more.

What Does an English Coach for Artists and Designers Have to Give?

In my case, as well as knowledge of how to help L2 users navigate the trickier parts of the English language, you get my strong creative/problem-solving streak, my love of art, Scottish culture and ecology, and my passion for helping others succeed.

These are all tools which will not just help you learn English, but feel good speaking English.

Independent artists and designers get this when they learn English for Creative Careers through my online course, Sketchbook English (there’s loads of 1:1 support).

And international art students get it when I design/deliver exciting English Tuition for Art Schools.

Further Information