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
- Ways into abstract painting
Course start date: Tue 20 May 2025 (and 3 other dates)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rebecca AllenEncounter different approaches to making abstract paintings while developing your skills in using a range 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 £369.00 Senior fee £295.00 Concession £240.00 - Illustration techniques Course 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 - Drawing 1 Course start date: Thu 22 May 2025 (and 10 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andrea VoiseyAn introduction to drawing from observation through a carefully structured approach in a studio environment. Suitable for beginners.Full fee £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00 - Calligraphy for beginners and improvers Course start date: Fri 23 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sharon ShawLearn and develop calligraphy skills on this beginners and improvers course. You will practice with a range of pens and papers, and create a finished example using a favourite quotation. Advice will be given on tools and materials. Suitable for left or right-handers. - Photography for beginners Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 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 - Designing textiles online Course 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 spaces Course 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 - In conversation with Simon Poulter Course start date: Thu 29 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Join us as artist and curator Simon Poulter speaks about his present focus - a series of paintings and online works documenting the ‘New Normal’. Recent work has included three large scale commissions working with Mutiny, as part of the University of East Anglia’s Future and Formprogramme. Mutiny is about to undertake a large scale commission in 2022/23 for Hull City Council, developing a digital platform and new work for the Old Town.Full fee £5.00 Senior fee £5.00 Concession £5.00 - Portraits 1 Course start date: Fri 30 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Luke Jones, Andrea VoiseyThis course aims to introduce you to this fascinating genre in both drawing and painting portraits through practical experience of the basic skills and concepts involved, including structure and proportion of the head and features, tone, colour, pose and expression. Working from direct observation of the live model.Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £359.00 Concession £292.00 - Japanese woodcut printmaking Course start date: Sun 1 Jun 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Carol Justin WilhideAn introduction to the beautiful and delicate printmaking world of Japanese Woodcut. Explore this water based, non-toxic process and build an appreciation for the handmade. You will learn how to design, carve and make a multi-coloured print. Beginners welcome.Full fee £319.00 Senior fee £255.00 Concession £207.00 - Explore editing: essential masking tips for better content Course 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 - Watercolour painting: experimental approaches Course start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Diane MartinBuild your confidence in watercolour how to approach painting. Learn how to apply imaginative of washes and brushwork; enjoy the colour and fluidity of this beautiful medium and discover if you would like to take it to the next level.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Drawing: focus on space and depth Course start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenExplore the potential of perspective, layering, light and shade to create space and depth in a drawing. By experimenting with different drawing mediums play with the picture plane in a drawing to achieve an illusion of depth. Using observational drawing make a still life come alive through the play of contrast and cast shadows.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Digital textile design with Adobe Photoshop for beginners Course start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Suk Han LeeCreate motifs and designs for printed textiles which may then be printed onto cloth. This course is ideal for beginners in Photoshop who are textile artists, designers, or for anyone interested in exploring pattern, colour and texture.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - London photography: River Thames Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Michael HardingExplore and discover London through photography walks around locations rich in photographic potential.
The walks revolve around photographing views along the River Thames, from the Aldwych area eastwards to the City, from London Bridge to the Southbank and from Westminster to the newly developed Nine Elms area. Bring your own camera and comfortable walking shoes as you capture places, spaces, objects and people.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £139.00
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