COLLEY WHISSON
LOOSELY DEFINED:
THE POWER IN PAINT

Colley Whisson
MENTORING MEMBERSHIP

$895 USD PER YEAR
(Billed annually, renews once per year)
or
$85 USD PER MONTH
(Month-to-month, cancel/pause anytime)

ENROLLMENT OPENS
MARCH 10, 2026
(Be First in Line — Reserve Your Spot)

WHAT’S INSIDE

This membership gives you full access to Colley Whisson’s “Loosely Defined the Power of Paint” course and ongoing mentoring, designed to help you build stronger light, greater depth, and more clarity in every painting.

You’ll work through a structured progression focused on the fundamentals Colley continually returns to — tonal values, simplification of shape, control of edges, color temperature, composition, and creating maximum depth. You’ll learn how to properly read a scene, organize visual information, and avoid the common trap of overworking or overcomplicating a painting.

The process always begins with the big shapes. From there, you’ll refine values, strengthen darks, clarify focal points, and reduce visual competition so the painting reads clearly from a distance. Before color becomes dominant, tone must work. You’ll be shown how to construct a painting step by step — beginning with a strong monochromatic foundation, then building into controlled color, thoughtful edges, and finally those deliberate accents that bring the work to life.

This membership is ideal if you paint mostly on your own and want steady, experienced guidance. Colley’s mentoring is not rushed and not driven by deadlines. You’re encouraged to step back, assess your work from a distance, simplify where needed, and allow your understanding to deepen over time. The goal is not speed — it is clarity, control, and confidence.

You’ll Learn:

• How to simplify busy scenes without losing strength

• How to create clear focal areas and reduce unnecessary competition

• How to use strong darks to make lights resonate

• How to build convincing depth through tonal and temperature control

• When to push a painting further — and when to stop

We invite you to join us and discover why so many students remain long-term. The growth here isn’t rushed or superficial — it builds steadily. As your understanding of tone, light, and depth strengthens, so too does your judgment. Paintings begin to read more clearly. Decisions become more deliberate. Instead of guessing, you begin to understand exactly what your painting requires.

That is why students stay. The learning compounds. Breakthroughs come more consistently. And over time, you won’t just recognize when a painting isn’t working — you’ll understand why, and more importantly, how to resolve it.

Your access to Colley’s mentoring and course material continues as long as you remain an active member through a yearly or monthly membership option.

Hard work does pay off. And with the right process in place, each painting becomes another step forward.

MODULE 1 | COLOUR

Colour is one of my favourite subjects. Personally, I would call myself a colourist, but for many artists, it can be a troublesome subject to approach. That’s why I want to take a good look at it. The important aspects are reflective light, the illusion that colour can create, how a painting is mostly grey in low light conditions and why this effects the colour temperature you choose. I cover these ideas extensively in order to help each student create an enhanced colour balance, depth through cool and warm colours, and colour saturation for any subject they choose to paint.

MODULE 2 | EDGES

Our edges have a huge impact on how our painting will appear to a viewer, and I feel this area of our painting is crucial to our success. I will discuss lost and found edges and the one-edge rule. I’ve found when a student is armed with this information, and they put it into practice, their paintings tend to reach another level.

MODULE 3 | CONTRAST

With years of teaching, I find contrast is one of the biggest areas of our painting that rarely gets the focus it deserves. That’s why I wanted to turn a spotlight on this subject. I will cover how and why we need to look and consider our big shapes. Plus, how to learn to see and look through the fog. This is an old term meaning that we need to look at our darkest tonal values. We need the widest range of dark to light, even on a cloudy, smoky, or foggy day. Our tonal contrast is one of the most important things to consider.

MODULE 4 | FOCAL POINTS

“If it ain’t on the page, it isn’t on the stage”. I love this saying; it refers to having a good idea in mind before we start our work day. Composition and Design are so very important. I’ve always placed a high level of importance on subject selection. I also delve into the subliminal directional lines and how to direct the viewer to where we need them to look.

MODULE 5 | CREATING DEPTH

I believe that creating a 3-Dimensional effect on a flat surface is what painting is all about. Perspective, mark-making, the Art of Diminishing Returns, and the Power of Blue are powerful ideas I cover in this module. How we apply our paint is crucial in achieving the desired illusion of distance.

MODULE 6 | X FACTOR

I’ve combined all of the information from the earlier modules into our final module. I will cover how to use flair and confidence in our work, the importance of foregrounds, and how all these combined shape our work. I always say, "I prefer a confident and correct brush mark to a tight and careful brush mark.” There are many ways to maximize the visual impact of our paintings, especially if they're missing that extra spark. I will guide you through the process with multiple ideas that you can implement effortlessly and perfect along the way.

SUGGESTED SUPPLY LIST

{Although Colley has a preference for oil paint, he is happy to help students explore and work with their preferred medium, whether it's acrylics, gouache, pastels, or watercolors.}

BONUS | A MOMENT IN VERMONT

Only students in this course receive this special bonus video - it’s not available for purchase anywhere.

In this 90 minute start-to-finish painting demonstration, Colley shares how to simplify a complex, green garden scene. Colley shows his techniques for mixing colors, capturing light, creating value patterns, drawing the eye to the focal point, and using expressive brushwork.

You can download and save this video in a safe place. It's yours to keep as a takeaway when your course access ends.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

Whether you’re just starting out or an established artist, this course is packed with everything you need to elevate your work and achieve your artistic goals.

• Ongoing Mentoring with Colley Whisson

  This is delivered as an ongoing membership rather than a one-off workshop.

  Colley’s teaching centers on clarity of light and dark, thoughtful simplification, and creating maximum depth — a principle he has pursued since early in his career after being told that people love to “lose themselves” in a painting. That pursuit of depth, organization, and visual flow underpins everything inside the membership.

  A recurring theme throughout Colley’s critiques and demonstrations is reducing visual competition. Too many small shapes, too much competing information, or overworked passages can weaken a painting. The emphasis is on simplifying where necessary, strengthening the darkest darks to support the light, and organizing shapes so the eye moves naturally through the scene .

  Growth comes from understanding why changes are made — not just what changes are made.
  

• Learn at Your Own Pace

  All instruction is delivered through professionally recorded videos, allowing you to learn when and where it suits you. Colley consistently emphasizes stepping back, reassessing, and allowing time and space to see a painting clearly. Students are encouraged to revisit lessons, absorb the reasoning behind decisions, and build understanding gradually.

  You maintain access for as long as your membership remains active, allowing your learning to unfold alongside your own painting practice.
  

• Over-the-Shoulder Demonstrations

  You’ll gain access to more than 20 hours of in-depth oil painting demonstrations. These sessions show Colley’s full process — from blocking in the big shapes to refining edges and focal points. These sessions explain not only what he does, but why, with a strong emphasis on simplification, value control, composition, and creating maximum depth.

  You’ll see how he begins with large shapes and correct perspective, establishes strong light and dark relationships before resolving color, and builds the painting in clear stages. By first treating the work as a monochromatic structure, he ensures it reads clearly before refining temperature and edges.

  Each module includes assignments and photo references to help you apply what you’re learning, making the experience both instructional and practical.
  

• Ongoing Additions & Growing Library

  As a member, you gain access to an expanding library of lessons and recorded material. New content is added periodically, and all previously released material remains available to you while you’re enrolled.

  This growing archive allows you to explore topics over time and revisit concepts as your understanding deepens.
  

• A Private, Focused Community — No Social Media

  We’ve moved away from Facebook and built a private, purpose-designed community directly within your account. This distraction-free space is created specifically for artists—no algorithms, no noise, no social media fatigue.

  Here, you’ll connect with Colley and fellow members, share your work, ask questions, and engage in thoughtful discussion focused entirely on painting and growth.
  

• Community Guidance Led by Colley

  As part of the membership, you’re included in a community guided by Colley’s experience as a working professional artist. You gain direct insight into how Colley approaches painting — from composition and tonal structure to knowing when to simplify, when to push color, and when to step back.

  He frequently reminds students that hard work does pay off, but so does staying calm, philosophical, and stepping back when needed.

  The goal isn’t simply personalized feedback on your paintings. It’s direct access to how an experienced painter thinks — the decisions he makes, the mistakes he’s learned from, the stories behind the work, and the lessons gathered from a life devoted to painting. Students consistently say this level of insight is rare — and invaluable.

• AI-Powered Course Search

  The course includes an AI-powered search tool built entirely from Colley’s own videos and teaching content. Ask a question, and the system instantly locates the exact moment in the course where that topic is discussed.

  You can watch the video or read the transcript—saving time and helping you get straight to the information you need, when you need it.

• Extensive Archive of Past Critiques

  Members also receive access to a deep archive of recorded student critiques and teaching sessions. These include real student work, detailed analysis, and practical solutions to common painting challenges.

  Colley adjusts student work in real time — simplifying busy areas, strengthening shadows, cooling or warming passages for depth, and reorganizing shapes to reduce competition.

  Watching the diagnostic process unfold is often as valuable as painting itself.

DISCOVER WHY THIS COURSE IS DIFFERENT!

Many painting courses offer short-term instruction with an expiration date. This mentoring membership takes a different approach by focusing on steady, long-term development of your eye and your ability to build a painting with strength and purpose.

Colley’s teaching centers on simplification, tonal accuracy, and deliberate design. You learn to reduce visual competition, unify shapes, and control light and dark so the painting reads properly from a distance. The focus is on strong foundations—values first, thoughtful composition, controlled edges, and maximum depth—so your work continues to improve regardless of subject.

You are guided through a structured process: big shapes first, accurate mid-tones and darks, refined edges, and regularly stepping back to assess the painting as a whole. These principles are reinforced consistently so they become second nature over time.

Because this is membership-based mentoring, you are not pressured to rush through material before access disappears. You can return to demonstrations, critiques, and step-by-step breakdowns again and again—reinforcing concepts, refining your understanding, and deepening your results—while remaining a member. There is no end date. Your progress continues for as long as you are part of the membership.

This is mentoring for painters who want lasting improvement—who are willing to simplify, think deeply, and build their paintings with structure, depth, and conviction.

 Colley Whisson
MENTORING MEMBERSHIP

$895 USD PER YEAR
(Billed annually, renews once per year)
or
$85 USD PER MONTH
(Month-to-month, cancel/pause anytime)

ENROLLMENT OPENS
MARCH 10, 2026
(Be First in Line — Reserve Your Spot)