Louay Kayyali studied fine arts at the Accademia di Belle Arti, Rome (after receiving a scholarship from the Ministry of Education). During this time he participated in a number of art fairs and received awards for his work; he also founded the first of a series of art fairs at La Fonta Nella Hall, Rome, in 1959. After graduating in 1961, he returned to Syria where he taught painting and decoration at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts (now the Faculty of Fine Arts), Damascus.