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
- Picture framing and mounting for beginnersCourse start date: Sun 12 May 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 £309.00 Senior fee £247.00 Concession £201.00 - 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 - 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 - Saturday painting studio
Course start date: Sat 29 Jun 2024Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke JonesDevelop your own ideas in painting with reference to the work of contemporary artists and experimental approaches to painting. Ideal for students who have completed ‘Painting 1’ or equivalent painting courses.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - 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 - 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 - Introduction to painting still-lifeCourse start date: Tue 5 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Learn the essentials of Still Life painting from paint handling and colour theory to composition.
Dedicate some time to developing your painting in a series of controlled steps. Learn to select and prepare surfaces and materials, build a composition around still life objects and make supplementary studies to guide your colour application. For absolute beginners.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Painting for beginners: intensiveCourse start date: Tue 10 Dec 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Learn and develop essential painting skills over consecutive days. Each session will focus on an aspect of painting, covering key concepts including colour, tone, composition and brushwork. Ideal if you have little or no painting experience.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Drawing and painting portraits: traditional techniquesCourse start date: Thu 16 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Steve WrightThis structured course introduces traditional approaches to drawing then painting portraits from observation of the life model. Suitable for all levels but some previous drawing experience an advantage.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00
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