Cityscape Painting in Acrylics - Next Steps - Southwell Library - Adult Learning

Take your cityscape painting further in this follow-on course designed for learners with some experience in acrylics. You’ll build on your understanding of perspective, structure, and composition while exploring more expressive techniques to capture the energy and atmosphere of urban scenes.

Through guided projects, demonstrations, and individual support, you’ll refine your skills, experiment with colour and texture, and develop a more personal, confident painting style. This course focuses on the theme of the urban landscape based on the constant construction and deconstruction of the elements, the balanced play of lights and shadows, or the subtle gradient that gives the frantic pace of the city.

The principles of drawing and painting are progressively practiced with techniques, including drawing composition and perspective. You will discover how to apply contrast, colour theory, and tonal values to create beautiful expressive compositions using vigorous brushstrokes.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

- Create at least two finished acrylic sketches of urban scenes that show improved use of composition and perspective

- Apply at least three advanced techniques such as layering, glazing, or palette knife application to suggest architectural detail and surface texture.

- Demonstrate accurate use of one- or two-point perspective in at least one painting to create a convincing sense of space and depth.

- Use custom-mixed colour palettes to reflect different times of day, weather conditions, or urban moods.

- Develop and implement a marketing plan using at least 3 different channels (e.g., social media, email marketing, and local events) to promote their products.

What you will need to bring to the course:

Acrylic paper/sketch pad

A4 canvas

White gesso

A range of synthetic paint brushes

Photo reference

Metallic palette knife

Acrylic paint (student grade):

- Red (Magenta, Cadmium Red

- Yellow (Lemon and Cadmiun Yellow)

- Blue (Ultramarine, and Cerulean)

- Titanium white