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.
Courses available both in-person and online
We offer a range of courses allowing you to choose between online and in-person learning. All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, you’ll receive the same great City Lit experience. See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.
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
- Introduction to watercolour paintingCourse start date: Mon 9 Sep 2024 (and 11 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anne-Marie FosterGain 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 £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Painting for beginnersCourse start date: Mon 9 Sep 2024 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenExperience the joy of painting. Through simple exercises you will explore colour, painting techniques and the expressive qualities of painting using acrylic paints. The perfect way to start painting.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £139.00 - Painting: oil techniques and mediumsCourse start date: Thu 12 Sep 2024 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Oil 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 £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Introduction to oil paintingCourse start date: Sun 15 Sep 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Desmond HaughtonOil paint is a medium, capable of delicate transparency and rich impasto effects. It holds many challenges for the beginner, but this course will offer a clear, structured way into the essentials and beauty of oil painting. will develop a feel for paint handling which will build skills and feed progress in oil painting.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Life painting for beginnersCourse start date: Mon 16 Sep 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
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.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Life painting: focus on light and shadeCourse start date: Tue 17 Sep 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
A great introduction to tonal painting working directly from the unclothed life model model. Using simple projects, you will explore different ways to represent the human form through light and shade in paint with encouraging helpful guidance from an experienced tutor.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Contemporary painting studio
Course start date: Wed 18 Sep 2024 (and 7 other dates)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth Brison, Amanda KnightDevelop 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.Full fee £959.00 Senior fee £767.00 Concession £623.00 - Painting 3Course start date: Thu 19 Sep 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony HullFollowing 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 £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00 - Ways into landscape paintingCourse start date: Sat 21 Sep 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
This practical course introduces a variety of approaches to expand your understanding of landscape painting.Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - Artists eye: painting landscapesCourse start date: Mon 23 Sep 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Kate HardyPaint a series of landscapes 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 landscape.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £169.00 - Introduction to painting portraitsCourse start date: Sun 13 Oct 2024
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.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - Watercolour painting studio: still-life Course start date: Thu 18 Apr 2024 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Hilary RosenA stimulating opportunity to explore the essential elements of still life painting using watercolour. Suitable for beginners as well as a refresher course for those with previous experience of the medium.Full fee £339.00 Senior fee £271.00 Concession £220.00 - Oil painting: focus on light and shadeCourse start date: Fri 19 Apr 2024 (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 £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Oil painting projects
Course start date: Sun 3 Nov 2024 (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 £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00 - Introduction to painting still-lifeCourse start date: Tue 5 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Learn the essentials of Still Life painting from paint handling and colour theory to composition.
Dedicate some time to developing your painting in a series of controlled steps. Learn to select and prepare surfaces and materials, build a composition around still life objects and make supplementary studies to guide your colour application. For absolute beginners.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00
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