Laurie Johnson Mentorship Group 1127

Laurie Johnson’s Mentorship for Emerging Artists

Develop your colour, value, and visual storytelling through live small-group mentorship with expressive artist Laurie Johnson. Open to painting media.

Learn more about Laurie Johnson’s mentorship

Meet Laurie Johnson and explore their work

What you will learn in this mentorship

• Finding the Missing Piece: Understanding Why Your Painting Isn’t Working
• Have you ever finished a painting and thought, “Something feels off…but I can’t figure out what it is?” You’re not alone. Most paintings don’t struggle because of talent—they struggle because one or two of the fundamental building blocks aren’t working together.
• In this mentorship, we’ll learn how to evaluate paintings with confidence by understanding the principles that create strong, compelling artwork. We’ll explore the fundamentals that often make the biggest difference, including value, color, composition, edges, brushwork, design, and visual storytelling. More often than not, the issue isn’t the entire painting—it’s one missing piece that, once understood, changes everything.
• We’ll also talk about artistic vision. Sometimes a painting lacks impact simply because the artist wasn’t yet clear about what they wanted the viewer to feel or notice. Learning to paint with intention can transform a technically good painting into one that connects emotionally.
• Each session will include thoughtful critiques, practical discussions, homework designed to strengthen specific skills, and occasional quick demonstrations to illustrate important concepts. My goal isn’t simply to tell you what to change—it’s to help you understand why those changes matter so you can begin solving these challenges on your own.
• You’ll develop a stronger eye for design, gain confidence in evaluating your own work, and learn how to create paintings that are more dynamic, intentional, and expressive.

Mentorship Focus

1. Better painting skills
2. Understand color vs value better.
3. The power of emotion in a painting
4. Storytelling skills
5. Creating the essence of someone instead of picture copying

How This Mentorship Works

• Live online small-group mentorship
• Monthly two-hour session with your mentor where you’ll receive feedback, teaching, and personal support from your mentor
• Mentor assigns homework so you can practice the skills you’re learning and get feedback on your results
• Meet mid-month with your group for informal connection
• Private group chat between sessions
• Join weekly live events with the Mastrius community