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
- 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 - How to draw: a complete course for beginners
Course start date: Mon 8 May 2023Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chris GrayExplore the creative possibilities of drawing, gain confidence and broaden your expectations and understanding of the subject. Learn and develop key drawing concepts: function of line, tone, texture, form, composition and mark making through a carefully structured approach. This course will be taught online.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £329.00 Senior fee £263.00 Concession £214.00 - How to draw: step by step drawing portraitsCourse start date: Mon 8 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chris GrayThis short step by step workshop will enable you to learn the time tested and proven approaches to successfully drawing portraits. You will be introduced through clear broken down stages a clear systematic approach along with detailed examples of how to simplify complex information like proportion, anatomy and construction of the head.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Drawing from house plants and flowersCourse start date: Tue 9 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Lose yourself in your own indoor garden and discover the creative possibilities of working from plants and flowers at home. This short online course will encourage you to sue a variety of materials whilst exploring different approaches to working from observation.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £149.00 - Sketching at the museum: Imperial WarCourse start date: Thu 11 May 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Heidi WigmoreWork from a fascinating range of artefacts and objects in the Imperial War Museum while developing your drawing skills. Explore the challenges and pleasures of sketchbook drawing methods using a variety of drawing materials under expert guidance from the tutor.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00 - Draw, paint, printCourse start date: Wed 17 May 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
On 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
A 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 - Drawing and mindfulness: morning meditationCourse start date: Mon 5 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Helen BurgessJoin us and set up your day in a tranquil, reflective way with our 5 day Drawing and mindfulness: morning meditation course. As daily life is full of uncertainty and with our attention getting pulled in many directions why not take some personal time to reset and focus combining meditation with some simple drawing exercises. You will be guiding your mind to settle and to look with care at the world around us and our inner experience. Whether you want to do something nourishing before you go to work or are setting up for a day of creative activity, the practices of drawing and mindfulness will bring a positive start to each morning, helping you begin the days with fresh eyes and mind. Suitable for all levels.
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 - Collage: patterns and texturesCourse start date: Tue 6 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Mario Lautier VellaCutting, pasting, layering, rubbing, ripping and more – experiment with this exciting online contemporary collage course, exploring various techniques to create a variety of figurative and abstract collage pieces from raw materials in your own home.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £99.00 - 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 - Drawing: focus on space and depthCourse start date: Mon 12 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenExplore the potential of perspective, layering, light and shade to create space and depth in a drawing. By experimenting with different drawing mediums play with the picture plane in a drawing to achieve an illusion of depth. Using observational drawing make a still life come alive through the play of contrast and cast shadows.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - 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 - Life drawing into life paintingCourse start date: Sat 24 Jun 2023
Location 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 - Contemporary drawing sketchbookCourse start date: Thu 6 Jul 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Simon EnglishExplore the sequential and adaptive nature of sketchbook drawing as a site for generating personal material, inviting connections, and extracting patterns of meaning. Includes gallery research, set-project as stimulus, and practical exploration of contemporary drawing techniques.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00
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