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 1
Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (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 £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00 - Artists eye: painting impressionism, surrealism, fauvism and pointillism Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Kate HardyArtist’s Eye: Painting Art movements. Post Impressionism, Surrealism, Fauvism, and Pointillism.
Develop your painting skillswith reference to contemporary and historical artists in this four week course. We will make paintings inspired by artists who were key members of art movements, be guided by their choices of subject matter, and learn their methods of paint application, colour mixing and composition. Acrylic paint can be used for all projects. This short course can be taken alone or in conjunction with the other modules.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £169.00 - Developing watercolour painting Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 10 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anne-Marie FosterExplore the specific qualities of watercolour and the opportunities this adaptable medium offers to create dynamic painting compositions. Develop a fluency with brush work and layering of colour to develop compositional possibilities.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Painting: oil techniques and mediums Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sisetta ZapponeOil 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 watercolour painting Course start date: Mon 16 Jun 2025 (and 6 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rebecca AllenGain 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 from plants and flowers Course start date: Mon 3 Nov 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Explore 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 - Watercolour painting: experimental approaches Course start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Diane MartinBuild your confidence in watercolour how to approach painting. Learn how to apply imaginative of washes and brushwork; enjoy the colour and fluidity of this beautiful medium and discover if you would like to take it to the next level.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Contemporary watercolour painting projects Course start date: Mon 2 Feb 2026 (and 6 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anne-Marie FosterThrough 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 £339.00 Senior fee £271.00 Concession £220.00 - Painting 2 Course start date: Mon 30 Jun 2025 (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 £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00 - Painting for beginners Course start date: Mon 8 Sep 2025 (and 1 other date)
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 £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - 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
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