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.
Courses available both in-person and online
We offer a range of courses allowing you to choose between online and in-person learning. All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, you’ll receive the same great City Lit experience. See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.
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
- Mindfulness sketchbook walkCourse start date: Thu 23 Mar 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Helen BurgessJoin us for a sketchbook walk in Central London to observe, record and engage with the busyness of urban life. Using mindfulness techniques combined with drawing we will be examining our experience and opening up to the magic and surprises that an evening in the city has to offer. It can be difficult to keep grounded and aware in urban environments but drawing offers a helpful way to direct our minds to the here and now, keeping a sense of purpose and deepening our attention.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £39.00 - 50 drawings in a day
Course start date: Sat 25 Mar 2023 (and 2 other dates)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Eleanor BedlowA high energy programme of directed and self-directed drawing projects, with rapid shifts in materials, scale, subject and focus. Strictly no discards - come ready to play, risk, invent and discuss! For those with some drawing experience.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £89.00 - Drawing and mindfulness: the art of seeingCourse start date: Sun 26 Mar 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Clare Barton-HarveyExplore the enriching relationship of drawing and mindfulness and how this can support new ways of seeing to stimulate new directions in your drawing. Suitable for those with experience in mindfulness and/or drawing who wish to re-fresh their practice or stimulate new approaches, as well as enthusiastic beginners.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £89.00 - Drawing and mindfulness: beginners guide to approaches and techniquesCourse start date: Fri 31 Mar 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Clare Barton-HarveyAn opportunity to explore the enriching relationship of drawing and mindfulness and how when practised together they can support greater confidence, lightness and creativity in drawing. Through a variety of guided exercises, explore how the two disciplines relate and how each can enrich the other. This course is suitable for beginners to drawing and/or mindfulness.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £49.00 Concession £49.00 - Sketching at the museum: V&ACourse start date: Thu 6 Apr 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Ro SylvesterExploring the pleasure and challenge of sketchbooks; practice and improve your drawing skills and 'ways of seeing' and understanding, working from an fascinating range of objects and artifacts in The Victoria and Albert Museum.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00 - Collage and mixed media: expressive colourCourse start date: Mon 17 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ute KreymanUse mixed media and colour to enrich your understanding of drawing; engage with different drawing techniques and materials, collage, mono print, simple models of spaces and a short introduction to colour theory.
All levels welcome.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Drawing from plants and flowersCourse start date: Mon 17 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Hilary RosenExplore a variety of artists’ approaches for painting flowers from observation. Discover the rich history of this genre while getting inspiration from contemporary artists who use flowers as their starting point in painting.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Life drawing: a contemporary approachCourse start date: Mon 17 Apr 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
This course introduces contemporary contexts for life painting using acrylic paints to explore different creative approaches using the imagination alongside observation of the model. Suitable for all levels but some previous life drawing experience an advantage.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00 - Drawing 3: experimental approachesCourse start date: Wed 19 Apr 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonExplore a range of materials and challenging approaches to develop your creative potential in drawing, informed by artists contexts. Building on your previous experience, develop your observational drawing skills for greater accuracy and complexity as well as learning to manipulate composition, surface and mark-making to create dynamic, expressive drawings.Full fee £389.00 Senior fee £311.00 Concession £253.00 - City Lit contemporary collage projects 3Course start date: Thu 20 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Simon EnglishCity Lit contemporary collage projects 3 concludes with a final set of collage and mixed media projects designed to experiment with and examine the interplay between the two and three dimensions. You will work with a wide range of materials, on and off the wall, extending our pictorial practice into the realm of collage, painting, drawing, assemblage, bricolage, decoupage, photomontage, small scale constructions, printing and text within the context of mixed media. Note* the course is designed in a way to enable students to either complete all three courses over the year or, come in at any stage in no particular order.Full fee £739.00 Senior fee £591.00 Concession £480.00 - Life drawing: experimental approachesCourse start date: Thu 20 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Annie AttridgeExplore paint surfaces and textures as you paint directly from the life model. An opportunity to discover strategies for personal expression inspired by Expressionist artists and to rework compositions.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00 - Contemporary sketchbook: mixed media, ideas and projectsCourse start date: Fri 27 Jan 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonDevelop a creative and experimental sketchbook. Explore materials and techniques with confidence, including mark making, drawing and mixed media. Produce a collection of work or ideas for composition. Drawing experience is an advantage but not essential.Full fee £389.00 Senior fee £311.00 Concession £253.00 - Life drawing after workCourse start date: Wed 15 Mar 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Discover new ways of drawing the human body in a fun, fast paced session that combines practical exercises with a variety of techniques. For those with some previous experience in life drawing.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £119.00 - Drawing and mindfulnessCourse start date: Wed 26 Apr 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street (other locations are available)
Tutors: Clare Barton-HarveyAn opportunity to explore the beauty and simplicity of the ancient practice of mindfulness in the context of drawing. Explore how the two disciplines complement each other, leading to greater clarity of perception, aliveness and appreciation. A practical drawing course, from observation.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Drawing: a contemporary approachCourse start date: Fri 30 Jun 2023 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Chris HoughTake your drawing into exciting new directions – build on your existing skills and discover new ways of working. For intermediate students with some drawing experience who would like to explore experimental drawing techniques and develop their own ideas in drawing. A chance to extend your own drawing projects guided by our expert tutor and practising artist, with reference to the work of artists using drawing in the wider art world today.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
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