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
- Ways into abstract painting
Course start date: Tue 21 Apr 2026 (and 5 other dates)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stephanie ConwayEncounter 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 - Painting and drawing dialogues: working with found images Course start date: Tue 21 Apr 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony Hull, Monika KitaDiscover how the ‘once-removed’ quality of found images like film stills can change your response to the world around you, as well as expanding the interpretive potential of painting and drawing.Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £359.00 Concession £292.00 - Contemporary painting studio Course start date: Wed 22 Apr 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 1 Course start date: Fri 24 Apr 2026 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Begona Morea RoyPainting 1 offers an introduction to the basic principles and skills associated with painting. Focus on differing approaches to observational and imaginative work, whilst learning how to organise a palette, mix colours and create different textures.Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £359.00 Concession £292.00 - Painting: colour mixing for artists Course start date: Fri 24 Apr 2026 (and 1 other date)
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.
Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Introduction to watercolour painting Course start date: Sat 25 Apr 2026 (and 6 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Diane MartinGain 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 - Painting and drawing dialogues: shaping time Course start date: Sat 25 Apr 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony Hull, Monika KitaReflect on how time is embodied in the surface of paintings and drawings to focus on the speed and sequence of your working methods. Discover how animation and film can aid and capture your creative process.Full fee £389.00 Senior fee £311.00 Concession £253.00 - Watercolour painting: mixed media processes Course start date: Tue 28 Apr 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anne-Marie FosterWatercolour 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 - Ways into abstract painting 2 Course start date: Fri 1 May 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Mario Lautier VellaA follow-on course from Ways into abstract painting. Explore colour, scale and mark-making in more depth to get the best out of your compositional ideas. Build skills in paint-handling, personal methods of developing abstract imagery, and confidence in discussing your work and themes.
Full fee £389.00 Senior fee £311.00 Concession £253.00 - Artists eye painting projects: architecture in abstraction Course start date: Tue 19 May 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Kate HardyMake a series of atmospheric paintings inspired by architecture and colour, learning from a diverse range of artists: their materials, methods and intentions. Eye-opening projects to inspire painters at all levels of experience. This is a live on-line practical course.
Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Contemporary watercolour painting projects Course start date: Sat 23 May 2026 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Adam HennesseyThrough 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 feature some approaches to painting, beyond the immediate western tradition to provide broader technical and critical insights.Full fee £389.00 Senior fee £311.00 Concession £253.00 - Life painting: experimental approaches Course start date: Thu 4 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonExplore 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. Suitable for those with some previous life drawing experience.
Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00 - Painting for beginners Course start date: Thu 4 Jun 2026 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenThrough 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 - Oil painting: focus on light and shade Course start date: Fri 5 Jun 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lindsay PickettThis oil painting course takes inspiration from the moody and luminous imagery of classic Film Noir. Explore composition, tonal contrast, and light transitions, using a range of different oil techniques to create visually dramatic paintings.
Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Portrait painting: two session pose Course start date: Sat 6 Jun 2026 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke JonesDevelop 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
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