Denise guides individuals to develop their artistic vision, to improve their ability to draw with realism, and to pursue art and creativity as their life’s work as she has done. She teaches private and semi-private classes via Zoom and offers self-paced art courses through the Living Creatively Website. As a mentor, she provides support to those who need to overcome creative blocks, to make their artistic expression a priority, and to help students and professionals develop a portfolio that WOWs viewers, whether they are clients or college admission teams.

As a fine artist, she creates original works of art for commission and sale and participates in exhibitions. See more at www.deniselaurinvisualart.com

​Education:
Bachelor of Arts, Northern Illinois University in Studio Art and Art History

Masters of Arts, Northern Illinois University in Art History

Continuing Education: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the American Academy of Art, Grace Cole Studio, Chicago, The New York Academy of Art, ArtCrit Academy with David Jon Kassan.

Specialization: Academic Realism in Portraiture and Figurative Work

Media: Graphite, Charcoal Pencil; Pastel, Oil Painting, Digital

​Teaching Experience: Denise was awarded a teaching assistantship as a graduate student at Northern Illinois University. She began teaching full-time on the college level in 2002 and has taught courses in the following disciplines:

​Studio Courses

Color Theory
Design Fundamentals
Observational Drawing
Portfolio
Creative Suite
​

Art History

Introduction to the Visual Arts
Non-Western Art
Survey of Ancient Art
Survey of Medieval-19th Century Art
​

Design: For over twenty years, Denise managed a graphic design business serving clients from every sector of business including financial, retail, food, healthcare and more. She won national recognition for her work and was named Woman of the Year from Women in Design/Chicago.

​Exhibitions: Her work has been exhibited in many venues in the Chicago area, including the Fine Arts Building Gallery and Triangle Gallery. In New York City, she

exhibited at CB 12 and the Gold Wing Gallery in Manhattan, as well as in galleries in Brooklyn and Long Island City.

​Affiliations: Denise Laurin is recognized as an Advanced Communicator from Toastmasters International and is a member of The Creativity Coaching Association.