London Art College

21/08/2026

A new weekend art challenge is online for our students! We can't wait to see what you all come up with this week!

https://www.london-artcollege.co.uk/news/2026/08/weekend-art-challenge-sea-life/

06/08/2026

Don't forget! London Art College students - Only 8 weeks to go before the deadline! Enter today!

06/08/2026

Results from our latest weekend art challenge! Turquoise & Sand

https://www.london-artcollege.co.uk/news/2026/08/weekend-art-challenge-results-49/

06/08/2026

Now in its fourth decade, the Discerning Eye is one of the UK’s most celebrated open exhibitions, bringing together small-scale works by artists from across the country for an annual show at the Mall Galleries in London.

What sets it apart is the curatorial model. Six prominent figures from across the art world, artists, critics and collectors, each curate their own section of the exhibition independently, resulting in six smaller shows within the whole. Some works are personally invited by a selector; the remainder come through open submission, giving emerging artists a real chance to hang alongside established names. You only need to catch the eye of one.

The 2026 selectors are Hugh Bonneville, Jasmine Pradissitto, Jon Sharples, Kelvin Okafor, Martin Robinson and Mel Gerlis. Last year’s edition was the largest in the exhibition’s history, featuring more than 730 artworks by 529 artists from 6,500 entries. This year’s prizes total over £9,100 across 13 awards.

All works must be no larger than 50cm in any direction and available for sale. All media welcome.

The exhibition runs at the Mall Galleries from 14 to 21 November 2026, with a virtual exhibition until 1 January 2027. The deadline for submissions is 27 August 2026.

https://www.discerningeye.org/

20/07/2026

Ready for our next Art Challenge? Paint your favourite pet and tell us all about them!

https://www.london-artcollege.co.uk/news/2026/07/weekend-art-challenge-favourite-pet/

20/07/2026

View our students results from our seaside finds weekend art challenge on our blog...

https://www.london-artcollege.co.uk/news/2026/07/weekend-art-challenge-results-47/

10/07/2026

Would any of our students like to take part in our weekend art challenge? This weekend’s challenge is a summery one – Seaside Finds.

You might choose shells, pebbles, driftwood, sea glass, or small beach still lifes. This is a lovely subject for practising texture, colour and simple composition.

You can keep things realistic or take a more illustrative approach.

Tips
Keep the composition simple
Focus on texture and surface detail
Use light colours and gentle contrasts
Avoid overcrowding the piece
You can use any medium you like for this challenge.

If students would like to find photographic reference, we always recommend using Pexels – copyright-free images:
https://www.pexels.com

Simply use the search box and you will find thousands of high-quality images to save and work from.

We will be sharing the finished artwork on Thursday 16 July on our blog.

10/07/2026

Take a look at our latest art challenge results all beginning with the Letter C!

https://www.london-artcollege.co.uk/news/2026/07/weekend-art-challenge-results-46/

10/07/2026

London Art College - Competition 2026

We are thrilled to announce that the London Art College Art Competition 2026 is now open for entries! This is one of our favourite moments in the college year, and every year we are bowled over by the incredible talent, creativity and variety on show. We cannot wait to see what you have been working on.

Who can enter?

The competition is open to all current London Art College students, as well as anyone who completed their course from September 2025 onwards.

What can I submit?

You can enter any piece of artwork you have created, in any medium, including watercolour, oils, pastels, illustration, coloured pencil, digital art, mixed media and more. The only exception is pure photography. It does not have to be a piece created as part of your course. It might be something you painted at the weekend, a piece created for one of our Weekend Art Challenges, or something you have made entirely for the joy of it. You might even feel inspired to create something brand new just for the occasion!

Prizes

1st Prize: £200 Amazon vouchers
2nd Prize: £100 Amazon vouchers

How to enter

Email ONE large JPG to [email protected]
Include your full name and student number in the email
Make sure your image is clear, sharp and well-lit, with only the artwork visible and no frames, mounts or backgrounds showing
The closing date is October 1st 2026
Before you send your entry, please read our image guidance page. Getting your photo right makes a real difference to how your work is displayed and judged. We have full guidance, including a perfect example of what a good entry photo looks like, at our Preparing Your Images page - or Taking Photos of Your Artwork page.

What happens next?

After the closing date, all entries will be displayed on our website for everyone to enjoy. Our tutors will then select the finalists, with the winners announced following our annual meeting in October. We will post everything on our website and celebrate the winners in a blog post too.

We wish every one of you the very best of luck. This is your chance to share your work, celebrate your progress and be part of something really special. We love seeing what our students create, and we are rooting for every single one of you!

24/10/2024

Congratulations to our London Art Competition 2024 Winner and Runner. Clare Roberts and Gergana Stoyanova are both featured on our latest blog post with a bit of a writeup for each painting. We hope you enjoy viewing the pieces and reading about them.

Well done to all of you who took part. All of the submissions were excellent. We hope that you continue to practice your craft daily. And if you need help.. our tutors, challenges and courses are here for you!

Study at your own pace. Online access to your tutor. For all ages and abilities. Improving your skills or furthering your art career? We have a course for you.