Drawing Courses in London
At City Lit, we have a variety of drawing courses, delivered in our bright, modern studios for students to create and develop a body of drawing work. Supported by our team of experienced and expert tutors, we offer students both a practical guide and an informative insight, providing an opportunity for all levels to explore traditional and contemporary styles of drawing.
We have classes for everyone, whether you’re a complete beginner and you want an introduction to drawing; or you’re at an intermediate or higher level and you want classes that focus on developing advanced drawing skills such as mark making techniques, experimental approaches and use of colour, tone and shade within these disciplines.
Our courses are specially designed to offer you support in overcoming any frustrations, learning new skills and helping you achieve your personal creative goals.
We host exhibitions throughout the year at City Lit Gallery where our students showcase their amazing work.
To arrange a conversation with our drawing coordinator about your interests, options and courses available, please contact our Visual Arts team at visualarts@citylit.ac.uk
- The British Horror film beyond Hammer
Course start date: Sat 17 May 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyNight of the Demon (1957), The Wicker Man (1973) and Frightmare (1974) form part of a less familiar, though equally striking, horror tradition than that of Hammer, and often in very different terms. Explore chillers from the 1930s and 40s, the proliferation of horror in 1950s, 60s and 70s along with more recent examples, while assessing a range of critical accounts of British horror beyond Hammer.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - The Miracle of Prose Poetry: Baudelaire and beyondCourse start date: Sat 17 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Suzannah V. EvansWhat is prose poetry? What makes prose poetry different from line-broken poetry? Why might poets choose to write in this form? Come and explore the complexities and possibilities of this provocative form in a supportive group context.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Keats and eternityCourse start date: Sun 18 May 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Laurie SmithIn the house where many of them were written, we will explore why Keats’s poems are regarded as exceptionally beautiful. How did he achieve this? We will see that it wasn’t luck or simply inspiration, but the result of choices which reflect important aspects of Keats’ personality. Includes ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, Ode to a Grecian Urn’ and ‘To Autumn’.
This course will take place at Keats House, 10 Keats Grove, Hampstead, London NW3 2RR. - Art and creative thinking with Rod Judkins Course start date: Sun 18 May 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rod JudkinsArt is fundamentally about communicating ideas. If the idea is strong, the work of art is memorable.
This exciting, one day workshop, led by Rod Judkins (artist, tutor and author of ‘The art of Creative thinking’ and ‘Ideas are your only currency’) will explore methods to create ideas and concepts and combine them with the process of making. You will receive a signed copy of Art and Creative Thinking when you attend this course.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - Craft focus: voice and dialogue in fiction Course start date: Sun 18 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie McKenzieAll fiction must speak to us as readers. It must communicate atmosphere and plot, character and layers of meaning with a unique 'voice'. Characters must also sound like themselves with dialogue that compels and convinces. Learn the fundamentals of voice and dialogue in this one-day course.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - A day at the V&A: an introduction to the collections Course start date: Mon 19 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresSpend a fascinating day at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum exploring a range of galleries. We shall be looking at the decorative arts, paintings, sculpture and design from across the world and across the centuries in this remarkable museum.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Sketching at the museum: British Museum Course start date: Tue 20 May 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Diane MartinExplore the pleasure and challenge of sketchbooks; learn and improve your drawing skills and 'ways of seeing' and understanding, working from an exciting range of objects and artifacts in The British Museum.
Please note - meet at Montague Place entrance - the front entrance is now only for ticket holders.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £79.00 - Textiles: experimental hand stitch Course start date: Tue 20 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Amarjeet NandhraA contemporary approach to hand stitching and embroidery exploring a variety of traditional stitches and techniques.
Create experimental and expressive samples using traditional and non-traditional materials.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Ways into poetry: intensive Course start date: Tue 20 May 2025 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alice FrecknallAre you just starting to write poetry? This shorter version of our introductory Ways into poetry course offers an opportunity to experiment with language and a variety of poetic devices. Discover the key elements of a poem in a friendly and interactive class.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - Effective counselling skills for speech and language therapistsCourse start date: Wed 21 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Louise Hillyer, Anita McKiernan, Amy StewartDesigned for SLTs working with any client group, this interactive workshop will help you develop practical counselling skills. Topics include developing the therapeutic relationship, boundaries, ways of responding, paraphrasing, reflecting, questioning, immediacy, self disclosure and loss.Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £449.00 Concession £449.00 - Private portraits: European miniatures at the V&ACourse start date: Wed 21 May 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresPortrait miniatures are some of the most exquisite likenesses ever produced, initially gaining favour in the court of Henry VIII as love tokens and tiny pieces of propaganda. This session in the V&A’s collection of portrait miniatures can be taken as a single stand-alone visit (no previous knowledge required, all welcome) or as a final lesson for the three-week online VB776 Private Portraits course.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Italian beginners: module 1 Course start date: Tue 6 May 2025 (and 15 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita SzaboWith its rich culture and history and its incredible landscapes and architecture, there are countless reasons to learn Italian. Whether you wish to learn Italian in order to make your visits to Italy more enjoyable, or because you'd like to speak with family and friends in their native language, this course will provide the groundwork for you to begin your journey towards fluency. Our emphasis is on speaking and listening skills so that you can start communicating quickly in Italian. Once you've completed this course you can continue with 'Italian beginners: module 2.’
Learn to speak Italian on this intensive evening class. Taught in Italian, the emphasis is on developing your speaking and listening skills. Each lesson is a bit longer than our standard lesson time, so you'll cover the same ground as you would in a standard beginners course, but you'll do so in fewer weeks. Based on Nuovo Espresso 1 (Alma Edizioni).Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £229.00 Concession £115.00 - Become more lipreadable Course start date: Fri 23 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lorraine BragginsDo you know a hard of hearing or deaf person who needs to lipread you? Find out how lipreading works and how you can make some small adjustments in order to become more 'lipreadable'.
This course will be taught in spoken English and not in sign language.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £69.00 - Ways into creative writing: intensive Course start date: Wed 28 May 2025 (and 9 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lucy PopescuNot sure whether creative writing is for you? Give it a try on one of these fun and supportive short courses covering the basics of fiction and poetry. Increase your confidence and produce work through guided exercises and discussion.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - Drawing and mindfulness Course start date: Fri 30 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Clare Barton-HarveyExplore how mindfulness can enrich drawing and give you more creative freedom. This course offers a great introduction to mindful drawing or ways to explore it more deeply. A practical drawing course from observation, and the imagination.
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