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
- Artists eye: painting impressionism, surrealism, fauvism and pointillism
Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025Location 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: Sat 14 Jun 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: Sat 17 May 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 £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Watercolour painting: mixed media techniques Course start date: Tue 20 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonWatercolour has a rich tradition - this course will explore the more experimental ways of using this pleasurable medium and will present new possibilities for producing exciting new work with mixed media. Make inventive combinations of media to draw from your own found imagery, photographs and sketches.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - 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 - Picture framing and mounting for beginners Course start date: Sun 11 May 2025 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Esther HeyhoeLearn picture framing and mounting skills for the home or workplace. Using professional framing tools and equipment you'll be taught all the skills you need to work in a busy studio or alternatively how to set up your own small scale practice from home.Full fee £329.00 Senior fee £263.00 Concession £214.00 - Portrait painting: two session pose Course start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke JonesDevelop a portrait from life: a structured course to build skills towards making a convincing portrait where the model keeps the same pose over 2 sessions to enable a sustained piece of work.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Life painting weekend: expressionist approaches Course start date: Sat 21 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Desmond HaughtonExplore and develop a personal expressive response to life drawing and painting using a variety of techniques working from the life model. Explore mark-making, rich colour and dramatic contrast to explore and experiment with expressive and dynamic drawing and painting techniques, in response to examples of Expressionist artists styles and approaches. - Painting: acrylic techniques and mediums Course start date: Tue 8 Jul 2025
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 £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Watercolour painting studio: urban landscapes Course start date: Fri 11 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Hilary RosenBuild your confidence and skills in outdoor watercolour painting in a variety of central London locations. You will be introduced to watercolour mixing and mark making in relation to painting the urban landscape. This course can be seen as a refresher or for students who have had a minimum amount of watercolour experience. - Abstract painting weekend Course start date: Sat 26 Jul 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda KnightLearn how to develop original abstract ideas from simple starting points and build confidence using a variety of painting approaches in acrylics. Explore the power of line, colour and texture in a lively weekend of structured project work.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Landscape painting weekend Course start date: Sat 26 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke JonesHave you always wanted to draw landscapes in a sketchbook?
On this course, you’ll learn basic techniques for landscape studies, in two different locations near to the City Lit. - Painting studio: three-day painting project Course start date: Mon 28 Jul 2025
Location 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 - 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
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