Sarah Edmonds takes a look at e-learning and how artists can benefit from tuition as well as set up their own online art courses.
Have you enjoyed an online art course in the past six months? Whether you saw this as an exciting opportunity to learn in a different way or if you made the decision purely out of necessity, the rise of fine art e-learning has rocketed – and the online learning industry as a whole is expected to triple in size by 2025.
Basket Full of Dreams by Melanie Cormack-Hicks
I am currently enjoying a 10-week drawing course with the London Fine Art Studios and a week-long history of art course with the Courtauld Institute. As a busy working mother living in Gloucestershire, studying with these elite institutions has been unobtainable until now and I am determined to take advantage of it!
Nothing can replace the human connection between student and teacher, but there are real benefits for learning remotely and we should expect it to become an integrated part of the future landscape of arts and crafts. For many who are unable to attend regular classes, online art classes present an opportunity to connect with others, build confidence and learn real skills from the comfort of their own home.
E-learning also offers a source of crucial income for many organisations and academies who have suffered in recent months. The ability to sell professional online courses to students anywhere in the world will help to ensure the survival of many institutions.
Heatherley's Fine Art Studios (founded in 1845) is one such example; they launched a range of online courses via Zoom in June 2020 that has proved immensely popular. www.heatherleys.org/online
Float Away, acrylic and ink, (110x110cm) by Melanie Cormack-Hicks
Teaching art classes online
If you're considering teaching online, but not sure how, here are some of the best options:
1. Design an online course and sell it from your website
This month's case study includes details of how to write and film an online course. Artist Melanie Cormack-Hicks enlisted professional course provider Ecademy to help her turn her idea into a successful self-paced guide to creativity. She demonstrates the persistence and strength of vision required to see your project through to completion.
2. Teach live tutorials via Zoom and sell places from your website
Many artists have turned to Zoom to help them teach remote art classes whilst continuing a personal connection of some kind. This free platform allows you to invite up to 100 people to join you in your studio and follow your teaching programme. Live streaming allows for spontaneity and instant student feedback, which is the nearest you can get to a classroom situation. If you are technically minded, you can load products (workshops) onto a shop web page or employ a web designer to assist you.
If you know what you want to sell, have the images and copy ready, it shouldn't be a long or arduous process. Depending on what kind of website you have, taking payment securely online (PayPal) is straight forward. Remember to record your classes so that it is available for students who have missed the session.
3. Teach via Instagram Live
The simplicity of Instagram Live is what makes it a very popular option. Simply head to your Stories app and hit 'Live' without any need for downloads or set up. The downside is that the recording will disappear after 24 hours and it's generally considered a free option.
4. YouTube Live
YouTube Live transforms online video into an interactive experience with the comments box open for everyone to use. An added bonus is the option to include additional slides to aid your teaching. 500 hours of video is uploaded on this platform every minute so there's no doubting its popularity.
5. Sell a pre-recorded course on your website
Artist Tim Benson has been very successful in promoting two-hour landscape and portrait workshops through Twitter. He has teamed up with The New School of Art to sell his pre-recorded demonstrations (two hours long), which are simple and very informative. online.thenewschoolart.org
Case Study – Mel Cormack-Hicks fine artist
Melanie Cormack-Hicks
Q. When and why did you start thinking about offering an online course?
A. Offering an online course had been on my 'to do' list for quite some time. I only have time to teach in person a handful of times a year. I often feel torn at the end of a workshop, knowing that I have more to give, but that my busy painting schedule means I don't have the time.
Lockdown gave me a really good reason to create the course I had been planning in my head for all those months. I had to cancel all my three-day workshops in 2020 and really wanted to gift something to the artists that should have been attending. In fact, I created the online course with one particular person in mind.
Q. Did you have any concerns about setting it up? (ie technical barriers, filming etc.)
A. Naively, I didn't have any concerns about setting up an online course. I was just excited to start a new creative venture. I knew I had Ecademy to host my course, so all of the uploading and scheduling would be dealt with by Nikki, who was as excited as me. I film to camera quite regularly and post on social media, so more than anything I was curious.
Setting up shots in my studio and in my garden was a bit like deciding on a painting's composition. I loved seeing my ideas come to life. I would often wake up dreaming up a new way to capture the imagination of the person sitting down to do my course.
My initial drive soon became more. After 'Art of the Sketchbook' was launched, I realised I would be able to provide support to many more creative journeys.
Q. What advice would you give someone who is keen to write an online course. What have you learnt on the journey?
A. Editing takes a looong time. Especially if you love the process. It's very interesting editing yourself! I was aware that I wanted the purpose of each creative task to be clear with connections in the learning from one task to the next.
Editing is a vital tool in securing this clarity. Therefore, a task may only take 45 minutes to film, but it might take six hours plus to edit each section and several more hours of shooting stills and time lapses. So, you need dedication and drive.
Q. What is the value of your online course for your students?
A. We each have our own unique take on what gives us our artistic joy. I aim to help each person find what that is.
'Art of the Sketchbook' is an opportunity to find joy and freedom within the pages of a sketchbook as you explore your visual voice through creative play. Taking away the trepidation of a blank page is step one. I have invented clear tasks that are designed to spark artists’ and makers’ creative curiosity.
My course aims to support each individual in exploring or finding their unique visual voice. I take this journey with them in our sketchbooks – this is where we discover happy accident, skills we didn't know we had and then the joy begins.
Q. What are the downsides of online learning?
A. Having taken an online course, myself (led by Simon Carter) I can honestly say I have now experienced this from both sides. From the viewpoint of the attendee, I was surprised how much I valued it. I was able to work in my own studio, there was a clear objective every day and I had another artist echoing my thoughts and giving me new ideas. I really felt that the experience helped me to move forward at pace.
The downside for me as the person delivering an online course is that I don't get to see people's faces – that lightbulb moment when something clicks and they start working with so much energy and determination they surprise themselves. It is the most glorious moment because you know you have given them something so special, something that they will use time and time again, that will forever be a part of their creative growth.
Whenever I get a message from one of my online students telling me they now own a beautiful sketchbook, bursting with ideas, I do a happy dance.
www.melaniecormack-hicks.co.uk/art-of-sketchbook-workshop
About Sarah Edmonds
Sarah is the marketing manager for Pegasus Art and a freelancer supporting creatives and fine artists. Sarah studied a short course at the Slade School of Fine Art and has a degree from Chartered Institute of Marketing. www.sarahedmonds-marketing.com
This feature is adapted from The Artist December 2020
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