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
- Watercolour painting: mixed media techniques
Course start date: Tue 9 Apr 2024 (and 3 other dates)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 £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - Painting: colour mixing Course start date: Tue 7 May 2024 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
A 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. An emphasis on colour mixing using acrylics and oil paint.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - Picture framing and mounting for beginnersCourse start date: Tue 9 Apr 2024 (and 11 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 £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Artists eye: painting impressionism, surrealism, fauvism and pointillismCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
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.
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 - Developing watercolour paintingCourse start date: Sat 15 Feb 2025 (and 9 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 - Portrait painting: two session pose Course start date: Sat 22 Mar 2025 (and 4 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 - Watercolour painting studio: urban landscapesCourse start date: Thu 13 Jun 2024 (and 3 other dates)
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.Full fee £339.00 Senior fee £271.00 Concession £220.00 - Stretching and priming a canvasCourse start date: Tue 18 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stuart JonesThis course is a must for painters wishing to stretch and prime their own canvases and paper. Learn about the properties of different types of painting supports, and the best materials for preparing surfaces and glazes for painting.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00 - Artists eye: painting interiors and architecture
Course start date: Mon 11 Nov 2024 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Kate HardyArtist’s Eye: Painting Interiors and Architecture
Learn painting inspired by artists including Gwen John, Richard Diebenkorn, Henri Matisse, Alexandra Exter, Helen Lundeberg, and Lee Krasner, in this four week course. Be guided by their choices of interior and architectural subject matter, and learn from 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.
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 - Watercolour painting: summer school intensiveCourse start date: Mon 15 Jul 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Hilary RosenCondense your learning on this intensive course. Working from still life explore a variety of application techniques such as layering, masking-out and creating textures to gain a grounding in the rich possibilities of the watercolour medium.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - Painting studio: three-day summer painting projectCourse start date: Tue 16 Jul 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lucinda OestreicherExplore 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 £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Colour mixing studio: two-day painting projectCourse start date: Thu 18 Jul 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stuart JonesThis is a brief introduction to acrylic painting techniques and the use of mediums and materials. Explore a practical approach to painting, including layering, impasto, glazing and application of paint mediums. Ideal for those new to painting in acrylics.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - Landscape painting: summer school intensiveCourse start date: Sat 27 Jul 2024
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.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £119.00 - Portrait painting: summer school intensiveCourse start date: Thu 1 Aug 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Desmond HaughtonDevelop 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 £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Life painting weekend: expressionist approachesCourse start date: Sat 3 Aug 2024 (and 1 other date)
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.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
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