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
46 courses available
Painting for beginnersThrough 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 £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00- Watercolour painting: mixed media techniquesWatercolour 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 £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00
- Developing watercolour painting
Explore 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; improve control over your process, and remain open to the unexpected.
Full fee £329.00 Senior fee £263.00 Concession £214.00 - Oil painting: techniques and mediums
Oil paint is a medium with a long historical tradition, capable of heavy impasto effects, transparent colour films, and delicate veils. Working practically in the studio, expand your approaches in oil painting: learn to build a variety of surfaces, working with mediums, texture and glazing. This course is for all levels – both beginners and more experienced painters.
Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Contemporary painting studio
Develop 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 £1,049.00 Senior fee £839.00 Concession £682.00 - Painting 2
Building on techniques and approaches covered in the Painting 1, this course enables you to work with more depth and a stronger emphasis on experimentation. Suitable if you already have some experience in painting.
Full fee £479.00 Senior fee £383.00 Concession £311.00 - Ways into landscape painting
This practical course introduces a variety of approaches to expand your understanding of landscape painting. Learn how to develop compositions on location and in the studio with increased confidence.
Full fee £409.00 Senior fee £327.00 Concession £266.00 - Starting abstract painting
Learn how to develop original abstract ideas from simple starting points and build confidence using a variety of painting approaches in acrylics. Explore the power of line, tone, colour and gesture in a lively weekend of structured project work.
Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £162.00 - Introduction to watercolour paintingGain 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 £359.00 Senior fee £287.00 Concession £233.00
- Introduction to painting portraitsAn opportunity to paint and draw from the life model focusing on portraiture. Basic observational skills will be explored as well as advice on how we can convey mood, character and tell a story through a portrait, inspired examples of artists portrait drawings and paintings.
Keeley Street
Sun 20 Sep 2026Luke JonesFull fee £349.00 Senior fee £279.00 Concession £227.00 - Painting and drawing dialogues: properties of the mediumGain 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 £479.00 Senior fee £383.00 Concession £311.00
- Drawing into watercolour paintingExplore the relationship between the two disciplines of drawing and watercolour painting and the opportunities when their distinct qualities are combined.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00
- Painting 3
Following on from the course Painting 2, enhance your paint handling skills to further understanding of the dynamics of a painted surface. Through a series of set projects and short critical discussions, examine the role of painting tools, marks and scale in building a painting.
Full fee £479.00 Senior fee £383.00 Concession £311.00 - Ways into abstract paintingEncounter 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 £409.00 Senior fee £327.00 Concession £266.00
- Watercolour painting: focus on nature and colourCelebrate the glorious colours found in nature by working from observation of natural forms. You will be encouraged to respond to the subject expressively using paint and other colour media to create a number of studies and one or more finished pieces.Full fee £409.00 Senior fee £327.00 Concession £266.00
Can't see a course you want?
Add this category to your waiting list to set up alerts and we will update you when new courses are released online.