Summer School // Painting London: The Dynamic City

“The streets of London have their map, but our passions are uncharted. What are you going to meet if you turn this corner?” – Virgina Woolf

London is a vibrant and ever-changing city. A fusion of green and urban spaces, a home to a vast array of different communities, and a place where history and progress sit side by side. It has also been the home to a great many artists, many of whom have captured the distinctive ebb and flow of the city in their own work, from the serene vistas of Canaletto to the urban chaos of Kossoff.  

This one-week painting course will explore the practice of drawing and painting in these green and urban spaces. Painting outdoors is both exhilarating and challenging; the aim of this course is to equip students with the confidence and practical knowledge to go out and work in any environment that inspires them.The course begins in our Shoreditch studios, with a comprehensive introduction to painting London, supported by looking at the many artists who have done the same. During the first day we will explore colour mixing, composition, and surface. Students will also be offered practical advice on working outdoors, ‘en-plein air’.

The next three days will allow students to work fully outdoors, across the full breadth of London’s rich landscape, visiting three very different locations. Firstly, one of London’s many green spaces, a chance to leave the noise behind and focus upon the trees and landscape.  Then, in the City, where the worn stones of history sit alongside the glass of the modern. And finally, a busy urban community, and a chance to deal with the fast-moving pace of London’s people and the bustle of life being lived. On the final day students will bring their work back to the studio. A guided opportunity to review & develop their weeks work, amending some paintings, or working them up onto larger canvases. No experience is necessary, and students are not limited to a particular medium. 

Free charcoal, newsprint and masking tape are provided in the Studios, you can purchase cartridge paper at cost price. 

There is an added Co-Co Bello Solvent fee for painting courses which includes a 200ml pot of solvent to use during the course. Please note that no other solvents will be allowed in the studios, in order to protect not only those with allergies but all who paint within our studios. Co-Co Bello is a plant-based, natural & odourless oil painting solvent. It is a replacement for traditional solvents and thinners such as turpentine, white spirit & alcohol. Co-Co Bello is non-hazardous, non-flammable.

You will need to purchase and bring all other recommended materials with you; a material list will be sent out before the start of the course. 

This course is for students 18 and over.