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Compose Like a Master

 

Learn how great painters turn ideas into complete compositions

A 14-day course on storytelling, structure, and classical design

Preorder Now — Save $50 & Unlock Exclusive Bonuses

Daily lessons released March 5th - 19th, 2026 (lifetime access to all materials included).


You can draw figures, control value, and work with color, but you feel like you're missing something. 

Not skill, but meaning: a clear narrative and purpose behind the work.

 
 

What’s often missing isn’t skill — it’s structure and strategy.

Compose Like a Master teaches you how to:

  • Build a painting around a clear narrative.
  • Design compositions that feel intentional and cohesive.
  • Use classical compositional principles to create movement and balance.
  • Develop ambitious paintings without second-guessing every decision.

So instead of choosing random parts and hoping they work,
you’ll know why each element belongs before you ever start painting.

 

 
Most painters reach a point where:
  • They love the idea, but the scene never fully comes together.
  • Figures work individually, but not as a whole.
  • Backgrounds feel unresolved.
  • Narrative compositions feel intimidating.

These are natural challenges, especially when working without a clear narrative or compositional framework.

This course gives you that framework.

Compose Like a Master teaches you how to build a painting around a clear narrative and a timeless compositional structure, so every decision has a reason.

 

 

WHO THIS COURSE IS FOR

 

This course is for you if:
  • You start paintings but don’t finish them because something feels wrong.
  • You have ideas and stories you want to share, but struggle to translate them visually.
  • Your figures work individually, but not as a cohesive scene.
  • You want your paintings to say something — not just look technically proficient.
  • You admire Renaissance and Baroque masters, and want to learn their compositional strategies.
  • You’re ready to attempt more ambitious narratives, but don’t know where to begin.

 

Most painters try to solve compositional problems after the painting has already started.


That’s why:

  • Entire figures get removed or replaced.
  • Composition becomes a constant struggle.
  • Symbolism and narrative feel forced.
  • Backgrounds feel empty or decorative.
  • Paintings start to look like academic exercises instead of lived moments.

 

The truth is simple:

If the story is vague, the composition becomes vague.

 

Great painters didn’t  just “arrange shapes.”

They designed meaning and then built it into structure.

That’s what you’ll learn to do here.

 

By the end of this course, you will know how to:

âś… Build a painting around one clear narrative.
âś… Judge that narrative using logic, emotion, and meaning.
✅ Design compositions that feel intentional — not scattered.
âś… Use classical compositional grids to create movement and balance.
✅ Develop narrative paintings without fear, confusion, or endless revisions.

 

You’ll leave with:

  • One fully developed composition.
  • A repeatable system you can use for every future painting.

 

If you have strong ideas, but you're not sure how to bring them together on the canvas...

Compose Like a Master is For You

 

  

What's Inside Compose Like a Master

 

PART I — Storytelling & Philosophy

Why the painting exists at all

You’ll learn:

  • Why narrative must come before design.
  • How Aristotle’s ideas (logic, emotion, moral consequence) apply to painting.
  • How to test a story for clarity and causality.
  • How to create meaning without relying on text or explanation.
  • How to design paintings that are universal and timeless.

This section gives your painting purpose.

 

PART II — Design & Composition

How the story becomes logical and coherent on canvas

You’ll learn:

  • How the viewer’s eye moves through a painting.
  • Why balance and movement must coexist.
  • How golden armatures create structure beneath drama.
  • How master painters built complex scenes that still feel natural.
  • How to crop, place, and pose figures so they belong.

This section gives your painting structure.

  

 

THE PROCESS YOU’LL FOLLOW

Throughout the course, you’ll actively apply everything you learn through:

  • Thumbnail sketches
  • Compositional drawings
  • Small studies
  • Structural testing
  • Final composition development

The goal is not to study theory alone. By the end you'll complete one coherent composition.

 

Meet Your Instructor

 

Nic Thurman 

Nic is a classical oil painter and educator focused on one central question:
how great paintings hold together.

After studying at the Nerdrum School in Norway, Nic became increasingly interested in why the greatest works still resonate centuries later. That inquiry led him beyond technique, and into storytelling, structure, philosophy, and the compositional systems used by Renaissance and Baroque masters.

In his own work and teaching, Nic emphasizes:

  • clarity of narrative

  • logical structure beneath visual drama

  • timeless design principles over trends

  • and compositions that serve meaning, not just as decoration

Through his courses, workshops, and online teaching, Nic has helped thousands of painters move beyond isolated studies and toward ambitious, coherent paintings with purpose.

Compose Like a Master distills the ideas he believes are most often missing from contemporary art education—how story, structure, and composition work together to create paintings that feel complete, intentional, and enduring.

My Promise to You

 

If you go through this course, learn the strategies, do the homework, and you don't come out of it feeling more confident in your compositional or storytelling abilities... We'll give you a 100% refund. That's because we know how powerful it is. And that's how confident we are that this course can transform you and your skills. 

What Are Students Saying

 

PRICING & ACCESS

Preorder enrollment (with bonuses) is open through February 28, 2026.
After that, the course remains open for enrollment, but bonuses will no longer be included.

 

Tier 1 — Core Course (Lifetime Access)

$149 Preorder ($199 after launch)
Includes:

  • Full 14-day structured course

  • Lifetime access

  • All lessons + assignments

  • Bonuses (included during preorder only): 

    • Archetypes Handbook - A guide to timeless human roles in painting

    • Golden Armature Overlay Tool - Classical compositional grids you can apply immediately.

    • Timeless Motifs Masterlist - Enduring ideas painters return to again and again.

    • Storytelling Backgrounds Mini Course - A focused introduction to storytelling tools used in backgrounds by masters to enhance narrative paintings.

      •  
Preorder Now For Just $149

  

Tier 2 — Live Experience

$199 Preorder ($249 after launch)
Includes everything in tier 1, plus:

  • 3 Live Q&A sessions - ask questions about course material or anything related to storytelling or composition you've been struggling with. 

  • 2 Live Development Sessions - work through your storytelling ideas with live support.

  • 3 Live Demonstrations - watch in real time as Nic develops narratives from the ground up.

  • Caravaggio Uncovered - Bonus course with an in-depth breakdown of selected paintings by Caravaggio.

  • Personalized interaction & feedback opportunities.

  • Lifetime access to live session recordings. 
Preorder Now For Just $199

  

 

If you’ve ever believed you could make a great narrative painting, but couldn’t get all the pieces to fit together, this course is for you.

 

Preorder Now - Save $50 and Unlock Exclusive Bonuses

Frequently Asked Questions