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
- Introduction to life drawing and painting
Course start date: Sat 29 Apr 2023Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony HullLearn or develop skills and approaches for painting the nude figure. Including use of tone and colour selection, composition and paint handling to develop solidity, atmosphere and expression. Some experience of drawing is recommended.Full fee £359.00 Senior fee £287.00 Concession £233.00 - Large-scale sketchbookCourse start date: Fri 5 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony HullCreate a sketchbook that explores ideas and an experimental use of a range of materials. Start with an offsite visit and develop the sketchbook using it as a visual journal of your thinking.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Sketchbooks: from observation to abstractionCourse start date: Fri 5 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Mario Lautier VellaUsing a sketchbook as an experimental place in which to explore ideas, take risks and reflect, you will embark on a 'visual journey' of transformational creative processes from observational drawing towards abstraction.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Draw, paint, printCourse start date: Wed 17 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Eleanor BedlowOn this experimental course, you will draw, paint and print in often unfamiliar ways in order to catch the unexpected. Through experimentation and reflection, you will collate a personal collection of work. .Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Life drawing: an extended studyCourse start date: Thu 25 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonA comprehensive course to build skills, vision and flair in drawing the human form. Use traditional and experimental approaches and a range of media, including charcoal and pastel.Full fee £359.00 Senior fee £287.00 Concession £233.00 - Perspective drawing for artists and designersCourse start date: Thu 1 Jun 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenExplore the practical and creative use of perspective through a series of lively exercises. For beginners, this course will enable you to gain an understanding in the basic principles of creating a perspective drawing to both visualise objects and spaces.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Drawing and painting from the imaginationCourse start date: Tue 28 Feb 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Clare Barton-HarveyExplore the role of the imagination in painting and drawing. Develop a toolkit of methods for stimulating, sustaining and enriching your imaginative engagement through a series of guided practical painting and drawing exercises.
The aim of the course is to investigate the role of the imagination in drawing and painting and to explore new ways of seeing and experiencing the world around us.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Introduction to collage and mixed mediaCourse start date: Sun 11 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth FranklinCollage is an exciting, accessible and creative medium. Experiment with a rich variety of materials and found images to make vibrant work experimenting with surface, form, colour and pattern, inspired by artists who make effective use of this way of working.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - 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 - Anatomical portrait drawingCourse start date: Fri 23 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andrea VoiseyEnhance your portraits by uncovering what lies beneath the surface. Through demonstration and direct observation of the model you will examine proportion, rotation and the key anatomical structures of the head and neck that denote likeness.Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £175.00 - Looking at artists: drawing and markmakingCourse start date: Thu 6 Jul 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lara MantellA beginners chance to explore artists use of mark-making and texture to convey ideas, place and emotions. Experiment with techniques using black ink, pencil and charcoal, and create a unique collection of drawing references.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £49.00 Concession £49.00 - Artists sketchbook walkCourse start date: Sat 8 Jul 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Amanda KnightJoin 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 £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £89.00 - Introduction to still-life in pastelsCourse start date: Fri 14 Jul 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ro SylvesterExplore a variety of techniques and approaches to making a still-life in pastels. Learn how to mix pastels on paper, choose suitable materials and supports to allow you to create a finished pastel drawing.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Sketching at the museum: National GalleryCourse start date: Thu 27 Jul 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Diane MartinExplore the pleasure and challenge of sketchbooks: practice and improve your drawing skills and ‘ways of seeing’ and understanding by working from some of the iconic paintings in the National Gallery.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00
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