London Art College Online: Accredited Distance Learning Art Education with Personal Tutor Support

The London Art College is one of the UK's most established distance learning art schools, offering accredited diploma courses in drawing, painting, illustration, and design to students worldwide since 1985. What distinguishes the London Art College from the proliferation of video-based online art courses is its model of personal tutor feedback: every student is assigned a professional artist as their personal tutor, who reviews submitted work, provides detailed written feedback, and guides the student through the course at their own pace. This one-to-one relationship between student and tutor is the foundation of the college's approach and the reason its graduates consistently describe the experience as genuinely transformative.

The college operates on a correspondence model that has been refined over four decades. Students receive course materials, complete assignments, submit their work for tutor review, receive detailed feedback, and progress through the course at a pace that suits their life and schedule. There are no fixed class times, no deadlines that cannot be extended, and no requirement to be in a particular location. Students in the UK, the United States, Australia, Canada, and dozens of other countries have completed London Art College courses, and the flexible model makes it accessible to people who cannot attend a traditional art school due to work, family, or geographic constraints.

The Personal Tutor Model

The personal tutor model is what makes London Art College genuinely different from most online art education. When you enrol in a London Art College course, you are not watching pre-recorded videos and completing exercises in isolation. You are working with a specific professional artist who knows your work, understands your strengths and weaknesses, and provides feedback tailored to your specific situation and goals.

Tutors at the London Art College are working professional artists and illustrators with active careers. They are not career academics who stopped making art to teach it. They bring the authority of current professional practice to their feedback, and their comments reflect genuine knowledge of what it takes to develop as an artist in the real world. When a tutor tells you that a particular aspect of your drawing needs attention, they are speaking from experience of the same challenges in their own practice.

The feedback process is thorough and specific. Tutors do not simply mark work as pass or fail. They provide detailed written commentary on what is working, what needs improvement, and specific strategies for addressing the weaknesses they identify. This level of engagement is rare in any educational context and is essentially impossible in video-based courses where the instructor has no knowledge of the individual student's work.

The Course Range

London Art College offers diploma courses across a range of subjects, each designed to take a student from beginner level to a standard of competence that justifies the diploma credential.

The Drawing and Sketching diploma is the foundational course and the starting point for most students who are new to art. The course covers the fundamental skills of observational drawing, including proportion, perspective, tone, texture, and composition. Students work through a series of structured assignments that build these skills progressively, from basic mark-making and simple objects to complex still life arrangements and figure drawing. The personal tutor provides feedback at each stage, ensuring that students understand and correct weaknesses before moving on.

The Watercolour Painting diploma builds on drawing foundations to teach the specific skills of watercolour painting: wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques, colour mixing, wash control, edge quality, and the specific challenges of painting landscapes, still life, and figures in watercolour. The course covers both traditional transparent watercolour techniques and the use of gouache for opaque passages, giving students a comprehensive understanding of the medium.

The Oil Painting diploma covers the full range of oil painting techniques, from basic colour mixing and brush handling through to glazing, impasto, and the specific approaches to different subjects including portrait, landscape, and still life. The course addresses the practical aspects of oil painting, including surface preparation, medium use, and the management of drying times, as well as the aesthetic and compositional principles that make oil paintings work.

The Illustration diploma is designed for students who want to develop skills applicable to professional illustration work, covering drawing, composition, character design, narrative illustration, and the specific technical requirements of illustration for print and digital media. The course is taught by professional illustrators with experience in publishing, advertising, and editorial illustration.

Accreditation and Recognition

London Art College courses are accredited by the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council (ODLQC), the UK's independent accreditation body for distance learning providers. This accreditation means that the college's courses have been independently assessed and found to meet established standards for distance learning quality, curriculum design, and student support.

The diploma awarded on completion of a London Art College course is recognised by employers and educational institutions in the UK and internationally as evidence of genuine artistic competence and commitment. Many students use their London Art College diploma as a foundation for further study at degree level or as a credential when applying for professional illustration or design work.

Who Studies at London Art College

The London Art College student body is remarkably diverse in age, background, and motivation. Many students are adults who have always wanted to learn to draw or paint but never had the opportunity during their formal education. Others are career changers who want to develop artistic skills for professional purposes. Some are retired people who have the time to pursue a long-held interest in art. Others are younger students who want to develop their skills before applying to art school or pursuing a career in illustration or design.

This diversity is one of the strengths of the distance learning model. Because there are no fixed class times and no requirement to be in a particular location, the college can serve students at every stage of life and in every part of the world. The personal tutor model ensures that each student receives instruction appropriate to their level and goals, regardless of the diversity of the student body as a whole.

The Bottom Line

London Art College offers a model of art education that is genuinely rare in the online learning landscape: accredited diploma courses with personal tutor feedback, flexible self-paced study, and a forty-year track record of helping students develop genuine artistic competence. For adults who want to learn to draw or paint seriously, who need the flexibility of distance learning, and who value the accountability and personalised guidance of a real tutor relationship, London Art College is one of the most valuable art education options available.