If you’ve tried life drawing then developing a figure or portrait painting from life is the next exciting step. On these painting courses, students will be looking at artists, both historic and modern, who have mastered the genre to inspire and develop confidence in handling paint. Beginners will follow a structured course to build skills in life painting including structure and volume of the head and body and how to mix naturalistic skin tones.
Taught in our bright, open and modern Life and Portraiture studios, you’ll work from a variety of life models and poses to develop confidence whilst exploring the relationship between the artist and subject.
Courses available both in-person and online
At City Lit, you can choose to study in-person or online. Our fantastic in-person courses are taught in our attractive campus, located in the heart of Covent Garden, central London. Here, our students can benefit from a variety of services and resources, including our café and state-of-the art equipment.
Our online courses are tailored to give you a social and interactive online learning experience, allowing you freedom to study from anywhere and with like-minded fellow classmates from all over the country without the need to travel. Use the Location filters on this page to choose your preferred learning method. See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.
To arrange a conversation with our life and portraiture coordinator about your interests, options and courses available, please contact our Visual Arts team at visualarts@citylit.ac.uk
This short course is a great introduction to painting directly from the unclothed life model. Using simple projects, you will explore different ways to represent the human form in paint, with encouraging, helpful guidance from an experienced tutor. Suitable for absolute beginners.
Paint a series of portraits inspired by the work of contemporary and historical artists. Learn from their individual ideas and techniques to introduce new ways of painting to your practice. The course can be used to progress from beginner level, or for experienced painters interested in portraiture. This is a live online course.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
