City Lit Art School — Art Classes in London
Explore new and exciting subjects within a range of art and design disciplines, develop your skill set, get the support required to change career or launch yourself as a freelance artist or designer. All this and more delivered through our practical and engaging art and design courses at City Lit.
Our range of part-time, weekend and evening art and design classes are taught by successful artists and practitioners to ensure you get the skills, knowledge and experience you want and deserve. From experimental painting and drawing to contemporary jewellery making, there is sure to be a course for you. Study from 1 day to 2 years, whether you are a complete beginner or a practising artist preparing for an MA. Our courses are designed with you in mind, so you get to spend more time doing what you love.
Set a new goal, start your next creative adventure with City Lit and let us support you to realise your ambitions.
We host exhibitions throughout the year at City Lit Gallery where our students showcase their amazing work.
Any questions? Contact our visual arts team on visual.arts@citylit.ac.uk
- Artists eye: painting impressionism, surrealism, fauvism and pointillismCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
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.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £169.00 - Try it out: garden designCourse start date: Tue 13 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Alison WorsterGet a taste of how you can improve your outside spaces. You will complete a short exercise and experience our design studio. This course links directs to ‘Roof terrace and balcony design and planting’, code VF345.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00 - Art and creative thinking with Rod JudkinsCourse start date: Sun 18 May 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rod JudkinsArt is fundamentally about communicating ideas. If the idea is strong, the work of art is memorable.
This exciting, one day workshop, led by Rod Judkins (artist, tutor and author of ‘The art of Creative thinking’ and ‘Ideas are your only currency’) will explore methods to create ideas and concepts and combine them with the process of making. You will receive a signed copy of Art and Creative Thinking when you attend this course.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - Textiles: experimental hand stitchCourse start date: Tue 20 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Amarjeet NandhraA contemporary approach to hand stitching and embroidery exploring a variety of traditional stitches and techniques.
Create experimental and expressive samples using traditional and non-traditional materials.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Illustration techniquesCourse start date: Thu 22 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Rod JudkinsDeveloping illustration techniques builds on from the introduction to illustration course and enables you to expand your illustration skills. You will experiment with a variety of different projects and work towards finding your own unique voice and style within illustration. There will be an exploration into a wide range of different media, materials, processes and techniques.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Designing textiles onlineCourse start date: Tue 27 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
This intermediate course will improve your Adobe Photoshop pattern tiling skills while learning new basic vector drawing skills in Adobe illustrator. We will improve on creating narratives for print design using multiple motifs and storytelling. Not suitable for beginners. You will need your own access the Adobe Creative Suite on your Mac or PC before class.Full fee £329.00 Senior fee £263.00 Concession £214.00 - Garden design: small spacesCourse start date: Thu 29 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Alison WorsterMake the most of your small garden and learn design and plant selection techniques tailored to your space. Discover how to understand your site and explore practical design solutions and tips on choosing the right materials and plants for your garden.Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £162.00 - Drawing and mindfulnessCourse start date: Fri 30 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Clare Barton-HarveyExplore how mindfulness can enrich drawing and give you more creative freedom. This course offers a great introduction to mindful drawing or ways to explore it more deeply. A practical drawing course from observation, and the imagination. - Drawing and mindfulness: morning meditationCourse start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Helen BurgessJoin us and set up your day in a tranquil, reflective way with our 5 day Drawing and mindfulness: morning meditation course. As daily life is full of uncertainty and with our attention getting pulled in many directions why not take some personal time to reset and focus combining meditation with some simple drawing exercises. You will be guiding your mind to settle and to look with care at the world around us and our inner experience. Whether you want to do something nourishing before you go to work or are setting up for a day of creative activity, the practices of drawing and mindfulness will bring a positive start to each morning, helping you begin the days with fresh eyes and mind. Suitable for all levels. - Explore editing: essential masking tips for better contentCourse start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lily MarkiewiczMasking is a essential skill for all editors. But masking isn’t just about hiding an unwanted object in the image. More often, it is used to creatively draw the viewer’s attention to a particular area. An invaluable skill for any film maker.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00
- Writing and photography: text and image workshopCourse start date: Wed 1 Oct 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christina Dunhill, Shirley ReadWhether you are a photographer or a writer, this short course will give you ideas for combining words and images to discover new approaches and create new work.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00
- Art in theory: What is creativity?Course start date: Thu 30 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
This critical studies course for developing artists and makers explores the concept of creativity and what it means to be an artist, drawing on a range of cultural theories and work by creative practitioners to help inspire and enhance creative and critical thinking.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £139.00
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