Beginners courses in art & design
City Lit is the perfect place to try your hand at art & design in a fun and welcoming environment with courses taught by practicing artists.
Whether you want to explore fine art, contemporary crafts or digital art, we have the course for you. Our range of introductory art courses are open to everyone.
Located in the heart of central London, our dedicated studios for jewellery, ceramics, drawing, painting, printmaking, digital arts and photography will provide all the facilities you need to start your next creative adventure.
- Photography for beginners
Course start date: Sun 25 May 2025 (and 16 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 - Painting from plants and flowers Course start date: Tue 27 May 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lindsay PickettExplore a variety of creative approaches for painting flowers from observation. Discover the rich history of this genre while taking inspiration from artists who use flowers as their subject matter.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Textiles: indigo shibori dyeing Course start date: Fri 30 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lara MantellProduce your own indigo hand dyed fabrics using pleating, stitch and wrapping methods. Explore the magical combination of indigo dye and shibori resist techniques. - Portraits 1 Course start date: Fri 30 May 2025 (and 3 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 - Introduction to watercolour painting Course start date: Fri 30 May 2025 (and 12 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lindsay PickettGain 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 £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Picture framing and mounting for beginners Course start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025 (and 8 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 - Painting 1 Course start date: Thu 19 Jun 2025 (and 7 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Amanda BrackenPainting 1 offers an introduction to the basic principles and skills associated with painting. Focus on differing approaches to observational and imaginative work, whilst learning how to organise a palette, mix colours and create different textures.Full fee £429.00 Senior fee £343.00 Concession £279.00 - Drawing: colour pastel techniques Course start date: Tue 1 Jul 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ro SylvesterExplore the versatility and rich colours of this beautiful drawing and painting medium. Through practical exercises, discover its potential to create a variety of surface effects and its suitability for sketching and outdoor colour work.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Introduction to clothes making Course start date: Mon 21 Jul 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Silvia SacrestanoLearn how to make your own clothes. This beginner's course will teach you how to use the sewing machine, as well as basic sewing techniques and processes. Start by sampling, then construct a simple garment.Full fee £379.00 Senior fee £303.00 Concession £246.00 - Introduction to jewellery making Course start date: Mon 21 Jul 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Louise Seijen Ten HoornDiscover metal jewellery making techniques to create a piece of jewellery. You will be introduced to the basic processes of forging, texturing, soldering and cutting out shapes in metal. You will learn how to create a ring to the correct finger size.Full fee £379.00 Senior fee £303.00 Concession £246.00 - Drawing 1 Course start date: Thu 22 May 2025 (and 10 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Brian SayersAn 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 - Drawing for beginners Course start date: Tue 8 Jul 2025 (and 13 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andrea VoiseyExplore traditional and less traditional methods of drawing simple objects. Using structured activities, you will be introduced to key concepts such as line, tone, composition and mark making. Ideal if you have little or no drawing experience; a great way to learn the basics or prepare for longer courses.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £139.00 - Try it out: garden design Course start date: Fri 19 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alison WorsterGet a taste of how you can improve your outside spaces. In this online workshop you will learn how to assess an outside space and complete a short exercise in garden design planning. A great preparation for our range of beginners garden design courses. - Introduction to oil painting Course start date: Sun 28 Sep 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Desmond HaughtonOil paint is a luminous and lustrous medium, capable of delicate transparency and rich impasto effects. It holds many challenges for the beginner, but this course offers a structured way into the essentials; you will develop a feel for the possibilities in oil and build essential skills in paint handling.
Full fee £339.00 Senior fee £271.00 Concession £220.00 - Textiles: experimental hand stitch Course 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
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