Visual arts
City Lit offers the most diverse visual arts programme in central London, with many courses taught by successful artists and practitioners. Recently rated ‘excellent’ in a government inspection, courses on offer include some of the most popular subjects in the capital, including photography, jewellery, ceramics, painting and drawing, as well as more specialist areas. Whether you are a complete beginner or a practising artist we hope we have something to entice you. Contact us
020 7492 2700/2703 visualarts@citylit.ac.uk
» Click here to view a prospectus pdf for Visual arts
- Art and literature: Ovid and Virgil to the Old Testament
- Art history: practices and debates
- British art
- Change must come: art, politics and society
- Contemporary art showing in London
- Cultural forum: debates in art
- East Anglian churches
- Gothic and Medieval architecture
- Introduction to art history
- Introduction to the Tate in London
- Landscape painting: origins and development
- Leonardo da Vinci: introduction and study day
- London's architecture and buildings
- London's smaller art collections
- Looking at paintings
- Medieval and Renaissance art: an introduction
- Michelangelo: introduction and study day
- Modern art: 1860 - 1900
- Modern art: 1900 - 1950
- Modern art: 1950 - 2010
- National Gallery
- National Portrait Gallery
- Painting and mosaic in the Greek and Roman world
- Practices and debates in Postmodern and Contemporary art
- Renaissance art in Italy: 15th century Florence
- Renaissance art in Italy: beyond Florence
- Renaissance art in Italy: the High Renaissance
- Renaissance artists and classical themes
- Scented visions: perfurme in art
- Spanish painters at the National Gallery and Tate Modern
- Styles in art
- Sublime encounters
- The 'isms' of 20th century art
- The age of empire: Egyptian art at the time of Amenophis 111
- The age of reason: art and culture in the 18th century
- The age of splendour: Egyptian art in the Middle Kingdom
- The art of copying: fakes, forgeries and tributes
- The arts of India
- The female pharaoh: Egyptian art in the age of Hatshepsut
- The Medieval galleries at the British Museum
- The Medieval galleries at the Victoria & Albert Museum
- The mirror of nature: art and culture in the 17th century
- The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
- Van Gogh and Gauguin
- Who's that. Lesser known but innovatory and exciting Renaissance Masters
- A taster course in bookbinding
- Book arts: contemporary - medieval
- Book repair and conservation: advanced
- Book repair and conservation: leather-bound books
- Book repair and conservation: paper and cloth-bound books
- Bookbinding for beginners 1: book structures and box-making
- Bookbinding for beginners 2: a leather-bound book
- Bookbinding workshop
- Bookbinding: access day - tutored workshop
- Bookbinding: coptic bindings
- Bookbinding: crossed-structure bindings
- Bookbinding: fine binding - forwarding and covering
- Bookbinding: gold tooling on leather and paper
- Bookbinding: introduction to pop-ups and paper engineering
- Bookbinding: Japanese-style books
- Bookbinding: making a unique artist book
- Bookbinding: the decorated book
- Conservation of books
- Intermediate/advanced bookbinding
- Star bookbinding
- The bookbinding course
- A taster course in pottery
- An introduction to ceramics
- Ceramic artists talking: Catrin Howells
- Ceramic artists talking: Gabriele Koch
- Ceramics diploma course: 1st year
- Ceramics diploma workshop
- Ceramics portfolio course
- Ceramics: a taster course in throwing
- Ceramics: surface printing on clay
- Ceramics: throwing and decoration
- Ceramics: throwing week
- Ceramics: workshop
- Experiment with pinch and coil pots
- Experimental ceramics
- Pottery
- Pottery for beginners
- Pottery for beginners: taster course
- Pottery intermediate
- Pottery on Saturdays
- Pottery: a taster course in throwing
- Pottery: beginner's throwing course
- Pottery: evening course
- Pottery: introduction to throwing and decoration
- Pottery: Saturday throwing course
- Repeating patterns on clay tiles
- Structured ceramics course
- Throwing on the potter's wheel
- 3D animation using Maya: introduction
- Advanced digital editing using FinalCut
- Advanced Photoshop techniques: 1
- Advanced Photoshop techniques: 2
- After Effects for beginners
- Animating Art with After Effects
- Animation using the computer
- Art and design computing and Photoshop
- Basic digital video editing using FinalCut: short course
- Beginner's animation: traditional and computer techniques
- Beginner's Photoshop
- Brief introduction to editing
- Compression techniques for digital video makers
- Creative animation
- Creative narrative cut-out animation
- Designing textiles using Photoshop
- Digital art studio: open access 1
- Digital art studio: open access 2
- Digital art studio: open access 3
- Digital art studio: open access 4
- Digital art studio: open access 5
- Digital art studio: open access 6
- Digital video editing using FinalCut
- English for artists, photographers, and film-makers
- Fine art video making: taught workshop
- Flash for character animation
- Flash for the web
- Getting started with a digital video camera and editing
- How to make your own website
- Illustrator
- Intermediate digital editing using FinalCut
- Introduction to After Effects and producing animated titles
- Introduction to creating your own website using Dreamweaver
- Introduction to InDesign and desktop publishing
- Introduction to using Apple computers
- Life drawing and Photoshop
- Lighting for digital video
- Make a DVD portfolio of your work
- Motion: an introduction for video makers
- Performing animation
- Photoshop and digital techniques for printmakers
- Photoshop for beginners
- Photoshop: produce promotional materials
- Produce and shoot your own digital video
- Taking Photoshop further
- Try it out: animation
- Try-it-out: professional cartooning
- Try-it-out: web design
- Using Flash for animation: introduction
- Video editing: intensive workshop
- Web design using Dreamweaver for artists
- Composing the figure
- Contemporary art sketchbook walk
- Creative sketchbook
- Develop your drawing
- Developing a sketchbook
- Drawing 1
- Drawing and mixed media
- Drawing and touch
- Drawing connections
- Drawing continued
- Drawing for textiles
- Drawing from natural history
- Drawing in the National Gallery
- Drawing sounds
- Drawing systems and perspective
- Drawing the line
- Drawing with colour
- Drawing: new ways of seeing
- Drawing: some basics
- From sketchbook to studio
- Large scale sketchbook
- Sketchbook course
- Sketching landscape and the city
- Start using colour
- Starting a sketchbook
- Starting to draw
- Try drawing
- Advanced portrait painting
- Contemporary portraits
- Drawing portraits
- Drawing: some basics
- Introduction to life drawing
- Introduction to life painting
- Introduction to portrait painting
- Life drawing
- Life drawing on a Sunday
- Life painting
- Painting portraits with light and shade
- Portraits 1
- Portraits continued
- Portraits: drawing the self
- Portraiture summer school
- Self-portrait head
- Skin deep - the body as a painted landscape
- Starting portraits
- A taster course in basketry
- Accessories: design and make your own handbag
- Basketry workshop
- Basketry: 'imbenge' technique using telephone wire
- Basketry: City & Guilds 7922, part 1 year 2
- Basketry: City & Guilds 7923, part 2 year 1
- Basketry: get netted
- Basketry: line, strip, form
- Colour onto cloth
- Contemporary willow basketry
- Creative stitched textiles
- Crochet for beginners
- Drawing with stitch
- Felt jewellery
- Felt jewellery taster
- Felt making: progressing ideas
- Felt-making for beginners
- Feltmaking: hand-felted Nuno cloth
- Hand knitting
- Hand knitting for beginners
- Hand knitting for improvers
- Introduction to plaiting: pattern and form
- Make baskets, bags and containers from recycled materials
- Open weave baskets and structures
- Rush basketry
- Rush into basketry
- Soft textile basketry
- Structural techniques for sculpture: working with natural materials
- Structures and surfaces with paper, fabric and stitch
- Surface pattern: design and decoration
- Textiles: colouring and dyeing fibres, fabrics and papers
- Textiles: exploring surfaces through paper and stitch
- Textiles: free appliqué still life
- Textiles: markmaking, collage and design ideas
- The textile course 1: day
- The textile course 1: evenings
- The textile course 2: advanced practice
- Children's book illustration
- Children's book illustration: inspiration and practice
- Children's book illustration: inspiration and practice
- Graphic design and illustration
- Graphic design basics
- Illustrator: an introduction
- Introduction to InDesign and desktop publishing
- Introduction to professional cartooning
- Produce promotional materials with InDesign and Photoshop
- Basic mount-making and stone setting for jewellery makers
- Ceramic and metal jewellery
- Creative bead jewellery
- Fabric jewellery
- Introduction to jewellery-making
- Jewellery certificate: City & Guilds 7922 year 2
- Jewellery workshop 7822
- Jewellery workshop 7922
- Jewellery workshop 7923
- Jewellery-making: a taster
- Jewellery: City & Guilds 7822 certificate
- Jewellery: City & Guilds 7923 certificate year 2
- Jewellery: day
- Jewellery: evening
- Jewellery: gold overlay
- Jewellery: gypsy setting
- Jewellery: introduction to working in metal clay
- Jewellery: make a beaded necklace
- Jewellery: make a silver bangle
- Jewellery: make a silver ring
- Jewellery: make a silver spoon
- Jewellery: make silver bangles
- Jewellery: non toxic resins and cold enamels
- Jewellery: off-loom bead weaving
- Jewellery: Saturdays
- Jewellery: short course
- Jewellery: understanding gemstones
- Jewellery: wax carving
- Make a piece of silver wire jewellery
- Non toxic resins and cold enamels for jewellery makers
- Polymer clay for jewellery makers
- Presentation drawing for jewellers
- Progressive jewellery
- Setting stones into metal clay for jewellery makers
- Silicone moulding and casting resins for jewellery makers
- Simple casting for jewellery makers
- Soldering, finishing and polishing - a master class for jewellery makers
- Start your own jewellery business
- Try jewellery: introduction to the City & Guilds certificate
- Understanding gemstones for jewellery makers
- Wire and bead jewellery
- Abstracting the townscape
- Colour and inner creativity
- Colour mixing for oil painting
- Creative still life
- Creativity from within
- Develop your painting
- Drawing into painting
- Exploring watercolour and mixed media
- From drawing to painting
- Green is the colour; painting is the process
- Introducing urban watercolour
- Introduction to art
- Introduction to painting
- Introduction to watercolour
- Introduction to watercolour techniques
- Introduction to watercolour: still life
- Introduction to watercolour: the environment
- Introduction to watercolour: the figure
- Landscape in oils
- Painting and film
- Painting and the imagination
- Painting continued
- Painting course 1
- Painting directions
- Painting stories
- Painting techniques
- Painting townscapes in watercolour
- Painting with photography
- Painting: composing and improvising with colour
- The City Lit fine art course: year 1 daytime
- The City Lit fine art course: year 1 evening
- The City Lit fine art course: year 2 daytime
- The City Lit fine art course: year 2 evening
- The figure in watercolour
- The sky's the limit
- Watercolour and the imagination
- Watercolour summer school
- Watercolour themes and ideas
- Watercolour: the radiant image 1
- Watercolour: the radiant image 2
- Watercolour: the radiant image 3
- Ways into abstract painting
- Bronze sculpture: the voluptuous figure
- Carving in wood sculpture
- Experimental clay sculpture
- Explore body casting in sculpture
- Explore life casting and prosthetics in sculpture
- Explore low melt metal casting in sculpture
- Expressive portrait sculpture
- Introduction to sculpture
- Introduction to sculpture for D/deaf learners
- Make a small steel sculpture
- Metal sculpture
- Metal sculpture: short course
- Paper sculpture
- Sculpture workshop day
- Sculpture workshop: carving in stone
- Sculpture: body casting
- Sculpture: carving in stone
- Sculpture: carving in stone City & Guilds 7822
- Sculpture: carving in wood
- Sculpture: carving in wood or stone
- Sculpture: clay modelling from life
- Sculpture: continuation carving
- Sculpture: creative construction
- Sculpture: developing personal ideas
- Sculpture: draw with space and light
- Sculpture: make an exhibition in one day
- Sculpture: make your own waxwork face
- Sculpture: making animals from wire
- Sculpture: metal casting
- Sculpture: origami in metal
- Sculpture: portraiture from the inside out
- Text and image: artists and writers exploring ideas
- The City Lit sculpture course year 2
- Try letter carving in stone sculpture
- Wire sculpture
Browse full range of courses
- Visual arts
- Art foundation and portfolio preparation courses
- Art history
- Bookbinding, book arts and conservation
- Calligraphy
- Ceramics
- Design
- Digital arts
- Drawing
- Drawing and painting from life
- Fashion, sewing and clothesmaking
- Fibre arts: textiles and basketry
- Graphic design, DTP, illustration and cartooning
- Interior decoration
- Jewellery
- Mosaics
- Painting
- Printmaking
- Professional practice
- Sculpture
- View all in Visual arts
- Find out more about the Visual arts department
- Photography
- Languages
- Arabic
- Catalan
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Classical languages
- Cornish
- Czech
- Dutch
- French
- Gaelic (Scottish)
- German
- Hindi
- Italian
- Japanese
- Language tasters
- Modern foreign languages teacher training
- Modern Greek
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Spanish
- Welsh
- View all in Languages
- Find out more about the Languages department
- Drama, dance and speech
- Accredited Dance Courses
- Advanced acting courses
- Bi-media courses: TV, radio and sound
- Communication courses for speakers of other languages
- Courses for professional actors
- Dance and movement
- Follow-on drama courses
- Introductory drama courses
- One and two-day courses
- One-week intensive courses
- One-year advanced diploma
- One-year drama access course
- One-year drama foundation course
- Professional skills - technical
- Professional skills for actors
- Professional theatre company
- Summer school
- Sunday courses
- Voice, speech and communication
- View all in Drama, dance and speech
- Find out more about the Drama, dance and speech department
- Humanities
- Anthropology
- Business and economics
- Communications and study skills
- Creative writing
- English for speakers of other languages
- Film
- Folklore, myth and spiritual studies
- History and politics
- Journalism
- Latin America
- Literature
- London walks
- Philosophy
- Science and environment
- Summer school: Britain in the 1930s
- View all in Humanities
- Find out more about the Humanities department
- Music
- Health and movement studies
- Alexander technique
- Anatomy and physiology
- Complementary health studies
- Continuing professional development for therapists
- Energy and healing
- Massage and bodywork: introductory level
- Massage and bodywork: professional practitioner level
- Meditation and stress management
- Movement classes
- Nutrition and food safety
- Self-defence
- Training for teachers
- Yoga
- Your progression routes to teaching
- View all in Health and movement studies
- Find out more about the Health and movement studies department
- Computing
- Apple Mac
- Basic computing
- Courses leading to a qualification
- Desktop publishing
- eBay, podcasting and blogging
- Graphic illustration and multimedia
- Microsoft Office 2007 applications
- Networking
- PC maintenance
- Programming
- Sunday courses
- The internet
- Web page design
- View all in Computing
- Find out more about the Computing department
- Psychology, counselling & personal development
- English, maths & ESOL
- Deaf education
- Careers in care work
- Access to higher education
- Progress - courses for people with learning difficulties
- Speech therapy
- Teacher & management training
Featured course
Sculpture: making animals from wire
Why City Lit?
If you are looking for a great choice of inspiring courses; a bright, modern environment to learn in located in central London; the opportunity to have fun and meet like-minded people, we look forward to seeing you at City Lit!