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
- 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 - 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 - Contemporary watercolour painting projects Course start date: Sat 12 Jul 2025 (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 £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - 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 - Painting and Drawing Dialogues: shaping time Course start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tony Hull, Monika KitaReflect on how time is embodied in the surface of paintings and drawings to focus on the speed and sequence of your working methods. Discover how animation and film can aid and capture your creative process.Full fee £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00 - 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. - Oil painting projects Course start date: Sun 29 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Desmond HaughtonOil paint is a uniquely sensitive medium, which can be used to create expressive and complex images. This course is for oil painters with some experience who want to develop their own individual painting projects, with expert tutor guidance.Full fee £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00 - 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. - Introduction to painting portraits Course start date: Sun 21 Sep 2025
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. - Introduction to oil painting Course start date: Sun 28 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Desmond HaughtonOil paint is a medium, capable of delicate transparency and rich impasto effects. It holds many challenges for the beginner, but this course will offer a clear, structured way into the essentials and beauty of oil painting. will develop a feel for paint handling which will build skills and feed progress in oil painting.
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