Painting Techniques & Processes — Courses in London & Online
Our range of creative, hands-on painting courses suit all levels of student experience and are there to encourage creativity and the development of painting skills for all. Taught by professional artists who bring their wealth of experience and specialist knowledge to enrich the student experience and to put the subject into historical and contemporary context.
Courses on offer include Start Painting - for absolute beginners, through Painting 1 and Painting 2 for the development of skills and knowledge. We also offer more intermediate courses with our contemporary painting studio and abstract painting courses, where students can further explore themes and their own painting projects.
Our fully equipped painting studios provide students with everything they need to get started, build confidence and create exciting work.
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.
For more information about courses available, please contact our Visual Arts team at visualarts@citylit.ac.uk
- Painting 1
Course start date: Mon 20 Apr 2026 (and 4 other dates)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony HullPainting 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 - 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 2 Course start date: Thu 23 Apr 2026 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony HullBuilding 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 from plants and flowers Course start date: Thu 23 Apr 2026 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Diane MartinExplore a variety of creative approaches for painting flowers from observation. Discover the rich history of this genre while taking inspiration from artists who use flowers as their subject matter.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - Painting: colour mixing for artists Course start date: Fri 24 Apr 2026 (and 2 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.
Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - 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 - Oil painting: techniques and mediums Course start date: Thu 30 Apr 2026 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Henry Gibbons GuyOil 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 - 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 - 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
This 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 - Oil painting projects Course start date: Sun 7 Jun 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Desmond HaughtonOil paint is a uniquely sensitive medium, which can be used to create expressive and complex images. This course is for oil painters with some experience who want to develop their own individual painting projects, with expert tutor guidance.Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £359.00 Concession £292.00 - Painting: acrylic techniques and mediums Course start date: Tue 7 Jul 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenThe fundamentals of painting are as important for the beginner as they are for the more experienced artist. This course will be an in depth focus on brushwork, brush techniques and how to improve your mark making to develop fluency in the mediums of acrylic paint.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00
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