Tutors
Expertise at close hand
Learn from the very best. Our tutors are not only well – established sculptors in their own right but offer expert tuition with warmth and passion.
Andrew Sinclair MRSS
Andrew Sinclair MRSS SWAc is recognised as a master of world-class figurative sculpture and is one of the world’s leading realist figurative sculptors working today. Andrew teaches his unique ‘narrative realism’ to students all over the world. He is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors and is an Academician with the Southwest Academy of Art.
Working to commission for over 30 years, Andrew’s sculptures are in collections across the globe and his recent public commissions include The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment Memorial Sculpture unveiled in Halifax in 2019, and the David Bowie Sculpture in Aylesbury Buckinghamshire in 2018.
Andrew’s sculptures are unique in their highly skilled attention to detail and this aspect of his work makes them resonate with life, adding a quality of realism rarely seen in contemporary sculpture today. Defined as ‘narrative realism’, Andrew’s work identifies the core character of a subject and brings it to the fore.
Diane Coates-Sinclair
Diane’s fascination with dynamic form, anatomical detail and sensuous line is the foundation of her sculptural work. Already an established painter and pastel artist, her career in sculpture began following her BA (Fine Art) degree in 2004. Her highly collectible bronze sculptures of female nudes and yoga figures are in private collections throughout Europe and the Middle East.
Diane’s partnership with Andrew Sinclair MRSS SWAc began through his invitation to assist with some commercial commissions at his professional sculpture studio in Buckinghamshire. This was the catalyst to discovering of how sculpture should really be created, having learned more in 3 months at his studio than in 3 years at university. With a fervent belief that figurative art is wholly neglected in formal art education, Diane and Andrew co-founded The Sculpture School in 2010 and they are passionate about teaching excellence in sculpture skills and craftmanship. Through their teamwork and dedication in sharing this precious sculpture knowledge, Diane and Andrew are proud to have developed The Sculpture School into the world-renowned establishment it is today.
Directing and managing The Sculpture School has been Diane’s major priority since their re-location to Devon in 2014, however Diane is Andrew’s ‘sous-sculptor’ assisting with major sculpture commissions whenever possible. Now that The Sculpture School has matured and grown, her personal aim is a reduction in office hours to enable a return to sculpting her own work for exhibitions and galleries!
Ross Andrew
Ross is the senior workshop technician for Andrew Sinclair at his professional sculpture studio, responsible for moulding and casting and prop making. Ross has worked here since 2016, and his quiet calm precision is an invaluable asset when working under pressure to meet sculpture commission deadlines.
Ross leads the 3-day Moulding and Casting workshops for The Sculpture School and is a patient, well-organised teacher, highly experienced to teach our students the professional skills they need to produce their own work.
David Snoo Wilson
David specialises in the beautiful alchemy of melting metal. He teaches our students skills in metal casting, guiding them through the intricate processes and enabling them to master the techniques of this specialist art which dates back to the Romans.
David is one of only a handful of bell-casters still active in this country. He has bells in the Royal household of the Prince Of Wales, among other places. Over the years he has received funding for his research and development into bells from Arts Council England, and the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust.
As an educator and technician Wilson has worked at the Royal College of Art, at the foundry. Internationally he has run courses and workshops across European universities sharing his knowledge of metal casting.