Louise Mouton Johnson was born and educated in New Orleans. After graduating from Xavier in 1976 with a BFA degree, she went to Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, and earned her MFA in 1980 specializing in printmaking. Johnson taught visual arts in the New Orleans public school system for 33 years, 14 of which were spent at NOCCA, while at the same time exhibiting and selling her prints, drawings, and quilts.

In the spring of 2018, Johnson was selected as an Artist-in-Residence at the Joan Mitchell Center, where she was able to plan and complete a body of artwork, including a major collaborative mixed-media commission.