City Lit Art School — Art Classes in London
Explore new and exciting subjects within a range of art and design disciplines, develop your skill set, get the support required to change career or launch yourself as a freelance artist or designer. All this and more delivered through our practical and engaging art and design courses at City Lit.
Our range of part-time, weekend and evening art and design classes are taught by successful artists and practitioners to ensure you get the skills, knowledge and experience you want and deserve. From experimental painting and drawing to contemporary jewellery making, there is sure to be a course for you. Study from 1 day to 2 years, whether you are a complete beginner or a practising artist preparing for an MA. Our courses are designed with you in mind, so you get to spend more time doing what you love.
Set a new goal, start your next creative adventure with City Lit and let us support you to realise your ambitions.
We host exhibitions throughout the year at City Lit Gallery where our students showcase their amazing work.
Any questions? Contact our visual arts team on visual.arts@citylit.ac.uk
- Textiles sketchbook course
Course start date: Sat 31 May 2025Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonDevelop a creative and experimental sketchbook. Explore the surface qualities of drawing and mark-making with the layered possibilities of mixed-media and hand stitch. You'll have the chance to generate visual research and ideas towards a personal project.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Japanese woodcut printmaking Course start date: Sun 1 Jun 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Carol Justin WilhideAn introduction to the beautiful and delicate printmaking world of Japanese Woodcut. Explore this water based, non-toxic process and build an appreciation for the handmade. You will learn how to design, carve and make a multi-coloured print. Beginners welcome.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Introduction to carving in wood or stone Course start date: Sun 1 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
. - Drawing: focus on space and depth Course start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
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 £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Explore editing: essential masking tips for better content Course start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lily MarkiewiczMasking is a essential skill for all editors. But masking isn’t just about hiding an unwanted object in the image. More often, it is used to creatively draw the viewer’s attention to a particular area. An invaluable skill for any film maker.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - Bookbinding: rare book design drop-back box Course start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nesta DaviesCut, construct and cover a standard Rare Book design drop-back box to protect and conserve books, archival material or precious objects and artefacts. Great for artwork presentation too! - London photography: River Thames Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Michael HardingExplore and discover London through photography walks around locations rich in photographic potential.
The walks revolve around photographing views along the River Thames, from the Aldwych area eastwards to the City, from London Bridge to the Southbank and from Westminster to the newly developed Nine Elms area. Bring your own camera and comfortable walking shoes as you capture places, spaces, objects and people.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £139.00 - Collage and mixed media: experimental approaches Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonCollage 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 £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Contemporary watercolour painting projects Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025 (and 6 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anne-Marie FosterThrough a set of short projects inspired by contemporary practitioners and their contribution to the uniqueness of the medium, the course will help you expand your understanding of watercolour and enable you to make informed choices in making personal work. It will also focus on exploring some watercolour approaches that can add variation and visual interest to your painting according to subject matter.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Jewellery making: cold connectionsCourse start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth BoneWould you like to learn how to combine / integrate materials and objects that are not metal into your jewellery making without the use of heat? This course offers you the opportunity to explore joining several different materials together using a variety of cold connection techniques such as rivets and tabs. Come and experiment with a number of techniques and adapt them to use with your own designs.Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £162.00 - Mosaics introductory Course start date: Wed 4 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa BensonDevelop your creative skills in this classic art form, adhering your materials to a temporary surface before applying the completed section to a flat base or casting it into concrete. Please bring ideas, basic materials provided. All levels welcome.Full fee £499.00 Senior fee £399.00 Concession £324.00 - Life drawing after work Course start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Joe RichardsonA fun, relaxed and shorter life drawing class better suited for people coming straight from work. You will be able to work from a variety of life models, in a range of materials and with a variety of poses. You will be working from the unclothed model, both male and female.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £149.00 - Introduction to children's book illustration Course start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Dee ShulmanOur Introductory courses provide a perfect way-in to a creative field.
The Children’s Book industry is thriving, largely due to rising literacy levels, and a growing awareness of the importance of early childhood education. As a result, Children’s Book creators are in demand.
Our tutors will teach you the many and various skills you’ll need to illustrate books for children - from drawing and painting (analogue and digital), to sequencing and pacing visual narratives.
You'll learn about the children’s publishing sector; gaining a sense of the different genres and markets for children's books, and where your illustration style might fit.Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - Friday evening pottery Course start date: Fri 6 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Suitable for students who want to learn basic design, handbuilding, decoration and glazing techniques or for students who want to refresh or develop existing ceramics skills. Everyone will be encouraged to explore and experiment with different skills and techniques in a friendly and supportive environment.Full fee £329.00 Senior fee £263.00 Concession £214.00 - Drawing: ink and wash techniques Course start date: Fri 6 Jun 2025 (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 £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
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