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
- Contemporary painting studio
Course start date: Wed 17 Apr 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 £899.00 Senior fee £719.00 Concession £584.00 - Oil painting: focus on light and shadeCourse start date: Fri 19 Apr 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alex HannaThis 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 - Life painting: experimental approachesCourse start date: Thu 2 May 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonExplore imaginative, dynamic approaches to painting the figure using a variety of approaches: be inspired by new ways of seeing and access innovative ways of approaching your life painting.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - 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 - Painting 2 Course start date: Tue 9 Apr 2024 (and 8 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 £409.00 Senior fee £327.00 Concession £266.00 - Painting from plants and flowers Course start date: Mon 3 Jun 2024 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ro SylvesterExplore 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 £209.00 Senior fee £167.00 Concession £136.00 - Portrait painting: two session pose
Course start date: Sat 8 Jun 2024 (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 £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - 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 - 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 - 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 - Painting: oil techniques and mediumsCourse start date: Mon 22 Apr 2024 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke JonesOil paint is a luscious medium with a long historical tradition. It is 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.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - Painting 3Course start date: Fri 19 Apr 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 and 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 £409.00 Senior fee £327.00 Concession £266.00 - 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
Can't see a course you want?
Add this category to your waiting list to set up alerts and we will update you when new courses are released online.
Add me to waiting list