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
- Developing watercolour paintingCourse 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 paintingCourse 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 - Photography for beginnersCourse start date: Thu 1 May 2025 (and 17 other dates)
Location on this date: Kean Street Photography Studio
Tutors: Sara Leigh LewisAlways wondered what half the buttons on your camera actually do? Discover how to use them properly and produce impressive photographs, even as a complete beginner. Gain useful technical knowledge and get expert creative guidance in easy-to-understand language. An ideal first step before enrolling on our intermediate courses.Full fee £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - Textiles sketchbook courseCourse start date: Sat 31 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ruth BrisonDevelop a creative and experimental sketchbook. Explore the surface qualities of drawing and mark-making with the layered possibilities of mixed-media and hand stitch. You'll have the chance to generate visual research and ideas towards a personal project.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Looking at photography: commercial practiceCourse start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Kean Street Photography Studio
Tutors: Ed GregoryLooking to work professionally as a photographer? Pick up key skills you will need on this practical course from camera systems, lighting solutions, paperwork and software workflow.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £79.00 - Introduction to stone setting: raised grain settingCourse start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rae DuncanGrain setting, sometimes referred to as bead setting, is a technique where small faceted stones are held in place by small prongs called beads. These are raised from the metal in the band using an engraving tool. This specialist technique builds on the basic stone setting methods, introducing the use of a new set of tools and skills and is perfect for those wishing to take their stone-setting to a higher level. - Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £162.00
- Bookbinding: experiments in paper foldingCourse start date: Sat 14 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ina BaumeisterExplore colour, structure, and layering to produce exciting sculptural forms. By combining and extending techniques such as origami and concertina folding, cutting, piercing and slotting, you will create your own unique books. - Large-scale mixed mediaCourse start date: Sat 21 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenAn exciting short experimental course to explore and combine a variety of creative techniques including collage from found images, drawing, painting and paper to create unexpectedly beautiful or powerful images on a large scale.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Printmaking weekend: photographic lithography techniquesCourse start date: Sat 21 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: David HolahPhoto-plate lithography uses light sensitive aluminium plates as a printing matrix for photographic, text or hand drawn images. This versatile process allows you to collage and overprint these elements to create original works in small editions.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Developing photography skillsCourse start date: Sat 15 Nov 2025 (and 13 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sara EpsteinAlready know the basics of photography but want to take things further? Refresh your knowledge, learn more advanced skills and develop your creative ideas, with an established professional photographer on hand for technical guidance and creative inspiration.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Life drawing into life paintingCourse start date: Sat 28 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lindsay PickettLearn or develop life drawing skills and approaches to painting the nude figure. Including use of tone and colour selection, composition and paint handling to develop solidity, atmosphere and expression. Some experience of drawing is recommended.Full fee £389.00 Senior fee £311.00 Concession £253.00 - Screen printing workshopCourse start date: Sat 22 Nov 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: David HolahEnjoy being guided through inspirational and experimental screenprinting methods. You'll try a variety of mixed media techniques that will energise and enliven your artwork - a great way to expand your image making practice and your portfolio.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Affinity photo: introductionCourse start date: Sat 1 Nov 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael HardingAffinity Photo is a British engineered and fully featured cross-platform editing alternative to Adobe Photoshop. For photographers at all levels. We’ll show you how to use it effectively to process and edit your images to the highest standard.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00
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