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
- Painting studio: three-day painting project
Course start date: Mon 28 Jul 2025Location on this date: Keeley Street
Explore a personal painting project over three full days in a well equipped studio, taking inspiration from contemporary artists with tutor advice and support. Please note that this course uses water-based oil paints as well as acrylic paints.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Contemporary painting studio Course start date: Thu 1 May 2025 (and 4 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 2 or Painting 3 or equivalent painting courses.Full fee £959.00 Senior fee £767.00 Concession £623.00 - Oil painting: techniques and mediums Course start date: Thu 18 Sep 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Steve WrightOil paint is a medium with a long historical tradition, capable of heavy impasto effects and delicate transparent colour films. Working practically, in the studio, this course will expand your understanding of approaches to building a variety of surfaces in your paint working with mediums and expanding your use of texture and glazing This course is for all levels – both beginners and more experienced painters.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Introduction to painting portraits Course start date: Sun 21 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke JonesAn 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. - Painting and drawing dialogues: material properties of the medium Course start date: Mon 22 Sep 2025
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 - Painting and drawing dialogues: working with found imagesCourse start date: Mon 3 Nov 2025
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 - Oil painting: focus on light and shade Course start date: Fri 7 Nov 2025 (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 such as ‘The Third Man’. Students will explore composition, tonal transition and contrast to enhance their pleasure in oil painting and create strong and powerful paintings.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Life painting: expressionist approachesCourse start date: Thu 13 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda WalkerExplore 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
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 - Ways into abstract painting 2Course start date: Tue 10 Feb 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rebecca AllenA 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 - Life painting: experimental approaches Course start date: Thu 1 May 2025
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.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00
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