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
- Drawing 3: experimental approachesCourse start date: Thu 2 Feb 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andrea VoiseyExplore 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 - Drawing: ink and wash techniquesCourse start date: Fri 3 Feb 2023 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jack DuplockThe immediacy and versatility of ink and wash is perfect for those sketching on location, for designers and for students interested in watercolour techniques. Take the opportunity to explore the basic techniques of this exciting process.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Sketching at the museum: National GalleryCourse start date: Thu 9 Feb 2023 (and 1 other date)
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 by working from some of the iconic paintings in the National Gallery.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00 - Drawing 1Course start date: Sun 12 Feb 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Louisa Buck, Luke JonesExplore the creative possibilities of drawing, gain confidence and broaden your expectations and understanding. Learn and develop key drawing concepts: function of line, tone, texture, form, composition and mark making through a carefully structured approach.Full fee £389.00 Senior fee £311.00 Concession £253.00 - Art and creative thinking with Rod JudkinsCourse start date: Sun 12 Feb 2023 (and 1 other date)
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.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £89.00 - Large-scale drawing and painting projectsCourse start date: Mon 13 Feb 2023 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stuart JonesEnjoy a lively, more active way of art-making and make work on a grander scale. Complete a number of projects that explore how big can be beautiful, challenging and surprising.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - 50 drawings in a dayCourse start date: Mon 13 Feb 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Charles ChambersA 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 - Anatomical life and portrait drawingCourse start date: Tue 14 Feb 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andrea VoiseyDiscover the extraordinary construction of the human body. Through direct observation of the model you will examine the fundamental anatomical structures that underlie both portrait and life drawing. For those with some drawing experience.Full fee £359.00 Senior fee £287.00 Concession £233.00 - Sketchbooks: creating visual journeysCourse start date: Tue 14 Feb 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonCreate a 'visual journey' of discovery through an experimental sketchbook. Explore materials and techniques with confidence, including mark making, drawing and mixed media to produce a collection of work or personal ideas for further development. Suitable for all, including those with basic drawing experience.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Life drawing: an extended studyCourse start date: Thu 16 Feb 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
This course is suitable for those with previous life drawing experience wishing to develop their life drawing and painting skills. You will be encouraged to develop a more personal response to the life model.Full fee £359.00 Senior fee £287.00 Concession £233.00 - Drawing and mindfulness: beginners guide to approaches and techniquesCourse start date: Fri 17 Feb 2023 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street (other locations are available)
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 - Drawing 2Course start date: Sun 19 Feb 2023 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonDevelop your knowledge of basic drawing skills and concepts, work with a range of media and approaches, and explore various artists' drawings. Produce exciting and personal images, and build confidence in tackling more complex drawings.Full fee £389.00 Senior fee £311.00 Concession £253.00 - Make a creative handmade sketchbookCourse start date: Tue 21 Feb 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Renata MinoldoThis Handmade Sketchbook Course will take your ideas and personal stories as a starting point and explore them in different visual directions, through drawing, painting, collage and mono-printing techniques. You will experiment with different papers and surfaces, through layering, folding, tearing, soaking, weaving, sewing etc. This series of rich and varied pages will be brought together to make a very personal and expressive handmade sketchbook.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £119.00 - Sketching at the museum: Tate BritainCourse start date: Wed 22 Feb 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Mario Lautier VellaExplore the pleasure and challenge of sketchbooks: learn and improve your drawing skills and ‘ways of seeing’ and understanding by working from some of the iconic artworks at Tate Britain.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00 - 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
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