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 - 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: 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 - Developing watercolour paintingCourse start date: Wed 24 Apr 2024 (and 9 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Paul DixonExplore 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 £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 - Painting 1 Course start date: Mon 15 Apr 2024 (and 9 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 £409.00 Senior fee £327.00 Concession £266.00 - 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 - Looking at artists: colour and compositionCourse start date: Tue 7 May 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Benjamin SeniorThis course will give you guidance on how to choose, mix and arrange colours successfully. We will explore approaches to harmony and composition through a series of small scale watercolour exercises which can be collected for future reference.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £39.00 - 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 - Painting: mixing tones for portraitureCourse start date: Thu 9 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alex HannaThis course will teach you the skills you need to paint naturalistic skin tones when working from life which will make your figure and portrait paintings more convincing.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 13 May 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Kate HardyModule three - Artist’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 £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - Ways into abstract painting Course start date: Fri 12 Apr 2024 (and 9 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rebecca AllenEncounter different approaches to making abstract paintings while developing your skills in using a variety of painting materials. With reference to the work of a variety of abstract artists explore the visual language common to both representation and abstraction, eg. colour, composition, tone and paint application.Full fee £339.00 Senior fee £271.00 Concession £220.00 - Painting: acrylic techniques and mediums
Course start date: Tue 21 May 2024 (and 2 other dates)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 £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - Contemporary watercolour painting projectsCourse start date: Tue 21 May 2024 (and 5 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 focus on exploring some watercolour approaches that can add variation and visual interest to your painting according to subject matter.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00
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