Painting Courses In London
At City Lit, we offer a variety of painting courses, from complete beginners with a focus on building essential painting skills, to more experimental approaches that include working at a larger scale or with a more abstract focus. Delivered in one of our bright, modern and relaxing painting studios, students will have access to all basic art materials and resources as part of their course.
Our wide range of studio-based courses and workshops offer students a practical, hands-on guide, from setting up your painting workstation, working with watercolour, acrylic or oil to more technical processes including experimental approaches and use of colour and working with painting mediums. We also offer a range of life painting courses and encourage students to work across and between the areas of drawing and painting to continually develop their ideas and work.
We host exhibitions throughout the year at City Lit Gallery where our students showcase their amazing work.
To arrange a conversation with our painting coordinator about your interests, options and courses available, please contact our Visual Arts team at visualarts@citylit.ac.uk
- Life painting: expressionist approaches
Course start date: Thu 13 Nov 2025Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke JonesExplore imaginative, dynamic approaches to painting the figure using a variety of approaches: be inspired by new ways of seeing and access innovative ways of approaching your life painting.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00 - Painting: colour mixing for artists Course start date: Tue 18 Nov 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenA concise study of colour usage. Investigate colour perception and how colour interacts. Explore a range of observational and expressive painting projects, relate colour theory to practice and develop confidence using colour. An emphasis on colour mixing using acrylics and oil paint.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Portrait painting: two session pose Course start date: Sat 13 Dec 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenDevelop a portrait from life: a structured course to build skills towards making a convincing portrait where the model keeps the same pose over 2 sessions to enable a sustained piece of work.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00 - Watercolour painting: mixed media techniques Course start date: Mon 5 Jan 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonWatercolour has a rich tradition - this course will explore the more experimental ways of using this pleasurable medium and will present new possibilities for producing exciting new work with mixed media. Make inventive combinations of media to draw from your own found imagery, photographs and sketches.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Developing watercolour painting Course start date: Tue 6 Jan 2026 (and 6 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jack DuplockExplore the specific qualities of watercolour and the opportunities this adaptable medium offers to create dynamic painting compositions. Develop a fluency with brush work and layering of colour to develop compositional possibilities.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - Introduction to watercolour painting Course start date: Tue 6 Jan 2026 (and 6 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Paul DixonGain a grounding in the rich possibilities available when working with watercolour paint. Through a series of practical studies, you will investigate the potential of this versatile medium.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - Contemporary painting studio Course start date: Wed 7 Jan 2026 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth Brison, Benjamin SeniorDevelop your own ideas in painting with reference to the work of contemporary artists and experimental processes on this higher level course. Ideal for students who have completed Painting 1, Painting 2 or equivalent painting courses. Please note: THURSDAY iterations of this course uses water-based oil paint. See 'How will I be taught? for details.
Full fee £999.00 Senior fee £799.00 Concession £649.00 - Painting for beginners Course start date: Thu 8 Jan 2026 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Begona Morea RoyThrough simple exercises you will explore basic methods of painting in acrylic from still-life, mixing and matching the colours and textures observed. Learn how to set up your workspace and begin to enjoy painting in a studio environment, using a variety of brushes and tools.
Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - Picture framing and mounting for beginners Course start date: Sun 11 Jan 2026 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Esther HeyhoeLearn picture framing and mounting skills for the home or workplace. Using professional framing tools and equipment you'll be taught all the skills you need to work in a busy studio or alternatively how to set up your own small scale practice from home.Full fee £359.00 Senior fee £287.00 Concession £233.00 - Painting 2 Course start date: Mon 12 Jan 2026 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenBuilding on techniques and approaches covered in the Painting 1, this course enables you to work with more depth and a stronger emphasis on experimentation. This is suitable if you already have some experience in painting.Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £359.00 Concession £292.00 - Painting and drawing dialogues: performance and the body Course start date: Mon 12 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony Hull, Monika KitaDrawings and paintings can capture the body’s movement in their surface, alongside registering an image. By focusing on the ‘performance of making’ new perspectives will inform a more individual approach to your work.Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £359.00 Concession £292.00 - Painting and drawing dialogues: material properties of the medium Course start date: Tue 13 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony Hull, Monika KitaGain an understanding of the interdependent nature of drawing and painting. Focus on the qualities of each medium working with and against their inherent properties to enhance your performance with both.Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £359.00 Concession £292.00 - Drawing into watercolour painting Course start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Paul DixonExplore the relationship between the two disciplines of drawing and watercolour painting and the opportunities when their distinct qualities are combined.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Drawing and painting portraits: traditional techniques Course start date: Thu 15 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
This structured course introduces traditional approaches to drawing then painting portraits from observation of the life model. Suitable for all levels but some previous drawing experience an advantage.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Ways into abstract painting Course start date: Fri 16 Jan 2026 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Mario Lautier VellaEncounter different approaches to making abstract paintings while developing your skills in using a range of painting materials. With reference to the work of a variety of abstract artists explore the visual language common to both representation and abstraction, eg. colour, composition, tone and paint application.Full fee £389.00 Senior fee £311.00 Concession £253.00
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