by Effy Wild | Nov 26, 2025 | The Painted Presence Project
NOTE: I had a hella busy schedule yesterday and while I painted for ten minutes, the rest (editing the video for Patreons, writing the post, taking screen shots of the process) fell through the cracks of SO MUCH TO DO. There will be a second post later today with Day 26, which will catch us all up.
If you’re doing a long haul project like this one, there’s going to come a point when the stakes start to feel pretty high. You look at your beautiful, layered work and think: One wrong move could ruin everything. That anxiety can create a profound paralysis, stopping you from making the necessary big moves.
This has happened every time I’ve worked on a larger painting over a longer period of time than I’m used to, and I gotta be honest. It’s stopped me every time.
Not this time, though.
Today, I faced that exact moment of hesitation. I wanted to fundamentally change the figure’s face shape to be more symmetrical and rounded, creating more room around the eye—a major, risky adjustment this late in the game.
I felt pretty anxious and unsure when I sat down. Would this ruin everything?
But I Know Things, And I Know I Know Them.
I gave myself a pep talk, but it wasn’t about courage; it was about knowledge.
The knowledge that let me move forward was that I know my mediums really, really well. I know what’s possible. I know exactly how these paints and Pitt markers play with each other. I know which colours in this series (Golden Fluid) opaque enough to act as an eraser if needed. I know the power of a little black gesso. So even though I was a bit shaky about it, I knew I could change things back if I hated the result. Well, maybe not exactly, but close enough.
The fear of “ruining” it dissolves, or at least, eases when you trust your tools and your capability with them.
I dove in, using the iridescent light copper to redefine the shape, and yes, I know I’ve created a bit of a bobble head effect as a result, but I can fix that at some future point when I’m ready to work on the neck.
I lost a LOT of depth doing this, but it’s okay. I know how to bring it back.
I then spent some time shading and reshaping her lips with Dark Sepia Pitt Pen.
The confidence it took to make this big of a change didn’t come from bravery, though. Not this time, at least. It came from expertise, since I’ve played with and experimented with these mediums for years.
When You Know Your Tools, You Can Take More Risks
If you find yourself paralyzed by the fear of ruining your work, ask yourself:
- What is the worst-case scenario with this specific medium? (Can I wipe it off? Can I glaze over it? Can I scratch it back?)
- What is my safety net? (The knowledge that this is mixed media, and nothing is truly permanent until the final varnish.)
Asking yourself questions like these before you make changes you fear you might regret will help you to stop approaching your work as if it’s a fragile thing you might break. Approach it as an experiment you know how to reset.
When you trust your tools, you trust yourself to handle the consequences, and that is the only permission you need to take a risk.
I won’t know if this risk was worth it until I get into the final stages of working on this face, but I’m confident I take it where I want to, and that’s giving me LIFE.
See you again soon,
Xo
Effy
P.S. Folks who are in my classes over on Into The Wild (my teaching network) or Patreon are getting video content every day throughout the course of this challenge. Folks who are subscribed to my YouTube channel will be getting video updates weekly or so. There may be stuff going up on TikTok. There will definitely be posts going up on Instagram.
Of course, this spot right here will ALSO serve as my studio diary, so I hope you’ll bookmark the site, and hey! EVEN BETTER! I hope you’ll sign up for the e-list, which I’ll use to let you know when a new post goes live. If you want the project PDF, here you go!
by Effy Wild | Nov 24, 2025 | The Painted Presence Project
DAY TWENTY-FOUR
The hardest part of a creative practice like this one can be showing up day after day, especially if you, like me, have pushed yourself beyond what you’d normally do. Sue commented on this yesterday on Patreon, asking me if I’d have stopped by now if not for this project, and the answer is a RESOUNDING YES.
But, as I’ve been watching her emerge, she’s starting to whisper things to me about what she wants, so rather than feeling like this is a slog to the finish, I’m feeling excited and motivated to meet her each day and do whatever those whispers are telling me to do.
Today I had a burning idea to create that little galaxy in the area between her face and hair. I used my old faithful technique of layering metallic watercolour paint (Fine Tec) over black gesso, and because I knew YESTERDAY that this was what I wanted to do TODAY, I was able to get into a flow state with things really easily.
Having a planned “next move” is something I learned as a writer way back in the day. I can’t remember which instructor I picked it up from, but some author on the subject of writing suggested leaving your writing session for the day with SOME idea of what you’re going to do in the next session.
Because I’m usually banging out paintings all lickety-split like, having a motivating nudge for the next session isn’t really necessary, but for this project, it’s really helpful. It means I’m flying into the studio in the morning with a plan.
I’m going to adopt this for any future long form painting projects. Once I’m done the session, I’m going to make a note of what MIGHT want to happen next and let that nudge me toward the studio for the next session. Even if that note gets ignored or the plan doesn’t feel quite right, the motivation to keep going is going to be there.
Not knowing what’s next can be its own kind of motivation, but MOST of the time, in me at least, not knowing can cause resistance. Having some idea makes meeting the painting in the next session less like going to a job interview where you have no idea what you’ll be asked or if your answers will be good enough to get you the job and a lot more like meeting up with a friend for brunch. I don’t know about you, but I’m always going to prefer the latter vibe over the former. *Giggles*
I finished the day by grounding the work, glazing over the gold leaves with Pitt Pens (Permanent Olive/Dark Sepia). But the real work was mental: setting the hook for my future self. That line of leaves along her garment is reminding me of a spinal column, but the question is whose spinal column might it be?
I’m excited to find out!
How about you? Do you end your session with some idea of what you want to do next? Are you willing to try it? Try asking yourself these questions either after your session or immediately before the next one.
- What is the next exciting thing I want to try?
- What is the most immediate, compelling impulse I have for the upcoming session?
- What about this painting is making me feel eager to come back to it?
Make a note and see if that creates a little bit of anticipation, and see if that anticipation nudges you forward.
See you tomorrow.
Xo
Effy
P.S. Folks who are in my classes over on Into The Wild (my teaching network) or Patreon are getting video content every day throughout the course of this challenge. Folks who are subscribed to my YouTube channel will be getting video updates weekly or so. There may be stuff going up on TikTok. There will definitely be posts going up on Instagram.
Of course, this spot right here will ALSO serve as my studio diary, so I hope you’ll bookmark the site, and hey! EVEN BETTER! I hope you’ll sign up for the e-list, which I’ll use to let you know when a new post goes live. If you want the project PDF, here you go!
by Effy Wild | Nov 23, 2025 | The Painted Presence Project
We all have days that start with the “LET’S GET THIS OVER WITH” energy. When external deadlines like a live class, a big appointment, or a messy house are pressing, the drive is to rush through your creative practice just to tick off the items on the to do list.
ASK ME HOW I KNOW! *LOL*
But rushing does nothing to foster presence. If you can stop that frantic energy and pivot your focus from speed to connection, you can reclaim your centre.
Today’s session was my reminder that connection is the antidote for centring the frenzy.
When I sat down, the pressure of the live class I’m teaching today was VERY loud, but once I settled in, the I was able to pivot to creating a sense of continuity.
Here’s what arose for me. Maybe you’ll find it useful.
When your focus feels fractured and you feel pulled in a million directions, you can use your art to create the emotional state you’d rather be experiencing. If you slow down and focus on what’s right in front of you, you can stop treating the different parts of the painting (or yourself) as separate URGENT PRESSING OMG DOOM tasks, and focus on making them speak to each other, and ultimately support each other.
My focus today was on the wandering leaves that have been showing up in this painting, which I’m starting to think of as an expression of growth that comes from reaching for connection, but I wasn’t in the headspace to calmly make those marks. Instead of rushing right into it, I used the desire to finish the hair as a portal into a steadier state.
While making those lines in the hair, I was thinking about how I’d rather feel about the day. Instead of focusing on the rush and sense of urgency, I flipped my focus to how much I’m looking forward to connecting with my students in A Softer World, and how much I enjoy what happens when we all gather in the same space (Zoom).
Once the hair was done, I intentionally connected the leaves around her eye all the way down to the torso, and then I added yet even more leaves to represent the “domino effect” that connection creates for me. One small mark leads to the other, just as one small choice leads to new choices, just as one small act leads to the next action.
And as for all this gold? It’s not just an adornment. It’s a blessing on the commitment to CONNECTION as my primary focus. Not rushing. Not getting it done. Not urgency. Not anxiety. CONNECTION.
So, the TL;DR of it all is that I asked myself what small grounding action I could do to settle myself (finishing the hair), and then what could I do to centre how I’d rather feel (bringing the wandering leaves together so they met and shook hands with each other).
How about you? Are you starting to glean some “life lessons” from your sessions? Are you finding yourself thinking more deeply about how you’re showing up and how you’d rather show up? Is it time to start thinking about unifying moves and marks, and if so, what unifying moves and marks could you make?
Remember that you aren’t stuck with any mark you make. Everything is temporary until you decide you’re done.
See you tomorrow,
xo Effy
P.S. Folks who are in my classes over on Into The Wild (my teaching network) or Patreon are getting video content every day throughout the course of this challenge. Folks who are subscribed to my YouTube channel will be getting video updates weekly or so. There may be stuff going up on TikTok. There will definitely be posts going up on Instagram.
Of course, this spot right here will ALSO serve as my studio diary, so I hope you’ll bookmark the site, and hey! EVEN BETTER! I hope you’ll sign up for the e-list, which I’ll use to let you know when a new post goes live. If you want the project PDF, here you go!
by Effy Wild | Nov 22, 2025 | The Painted Presence Project
There’s been a bit of an intentional pivot in the way I talk about my process here and on my socials, because I noticed that I was getting swept up in the “omgdoom” of it all (which, fair, right? Because omgdoom is VALID right now). I’ve refocused on wanting everything I share to be of *use* to you, in service to your creative practice. And I love that. I do. And I’m going to keep doing that because it’s working for me.
BUT NOT TODAY.
I woke up out of a dead sleep at 2:47 in the morning and then again at 5:30, and I have been VIBRATING since, and I don’t mean that in a metaphorical “Oh, I’m a little antsy” way, either. I mean shaking hands, heart pounding out of my chest, breath ragged and hard to control. VIBRATING.
And it turns out I’m not alone, because my socmed feeds are full of the same tale of woe from folks all over the world, which I was grateful to hear because while I hate that for ALL of us, I am settled somewhat by knowing that I’m not alone. There is definitely a disturbance in the force today (I mean, more than the usual *waves at all of the disturbances), and there’s nothing to do but nod at it and get on with my day.
When I tell you that I practically *flew* to the painty table today, I mean I FLEW like my HAIR WAS ON FIRE because that ten minute’s of silence has become medicinal and necessary. We’re 22 days in, and I’m beginning to recognize the Pavlovian nature of this thing (if you don’t know about Pavlov’s dog, just know that what I mean is that this practice has conditioned me to associate the ten minutes of silence with a sense of utter quiet and peace).
I light that stick of incense (Nag Champa), touch it the wick of my candle, wave the smoke around like a prayer, and boom. Settled.
Phew.
How about you? Are you starting to feel the impact of showing up day after day?
***
Nothing earth shattering happened with the painting process today (thank the gods).
I used some Dark Sepia Pitt Pen to deepen things even further around the eyes and the hair/face.
Then I glazed over the gold leaves with a Permanent Olive Pitt Pen because green over gold makes my heart happy.
Her hair was calling to be worked on as well, and I was aware as I got into it that there wasn’t going to be enough time to do all of it the way I wanted to. There was a smidgeon of resistance, but I took a deep breath and dove in anyway.
It was SO WEIRD to leave half her hair undone like that. The innards get so funny about these things, right?
OH NO NOT HALF DONE HAIR! WHATEVER WILL THE NEIGHBOURS THINK?!
*Giggles*
I am amused. And in search of more coffee, because an ungodly early morning calls for more caffeine.
See you tomorrow,
xo Effy
P.S. Folks who are in my classes over on Into The Wild (my teaching network) or Patreon are getting video content every day throughout the course of this challenge. Folks who are subscribed to my YouTube channel will be getting video updates weekly or so. There may be stuff going up on TikTok. There will definitely be posts going up on Instagram.
Of course, this spot right here will ALSO serve as my studio diary, so I hope you’ll bookmark the site, and hey! EVEN BETTER! I hope you’ll sign up for the e-list, which I’ll use to let you know when a new post goes live. If you want the project PDF, here you go!
by Effy Wild | Nov 21, 2025 | The Painted Presence Project
DAY TWENTY-ONE
I hope, if you’re following along, that you’re seeing a pattern emerge here. Not every day requires a massive act of chaos or a dramatic breakthrough. Some days, the deepest, most powerful work is quiet, and I’ve slipped easily and without any kind of fanfare into treating the process as a devotional, where the small, focused effort you offer becomes energy you extend to yourself.
Today that tending focused on a micro-adjustment that changed everything.
I came to the page with the intention of honoring all I’ve learned so far. This meant focusing on the area around the “adorn the flaw” leaves we worked on yesterday. I used the iridescent fine gold, not just to highlight, but to push back the old line of her eyebrow, allowing the leaves to replace it. This is a powerful act: letting a new, organic form replace an old, rigid boundary. Who knew our paintings could become our life coaches, eh? WELL NOW WE KNOW.
I want to thank Deborah Rymer for emailing me to point out that if I did that, the “flaw” would disappear, and she was right! Which reminds me to tell you: If you see something in the painting that you think might shift things or improve things, you are MOST WELCOME to email me! I won’t take every suggestion, but I will consider them!
Okay, back to the process.
I added grounding and depth with Dark Sepia shading around the leaves and the eyes.
But the central, most potent action was this: I shifted the gaze.
I lowered the iris and ensured that it filled the area, so there was no more white of the eye showing. This tiny, focused effort took the figure’s gaze from slightly upward and away, which made her look a bit avoidant and distracted, and to my eyes, slightly annoyed, to looking more present and compassionate. This shifted her from seeming to seek elsewhere to communing here.
The gold gel pen I added to embellish the eye wasn’t a fix. It was a little offering, like a silent “thank you for showing up”.
The lesson for all of us, I think, is this: The quality of our attention is the quality of our devotion. Sometimes, a tiny, careful adjustment—a single, quiet act of tending—is all it takes to bring us from distraction into full presence.
Where in your life or your art can you apply this little shift? What small detail are you ready to adjust to shift your focus from avoiding what is hard to fully engaging with what is here?
That quiet, focused effort is energy offered as love.
See you tomorrow,
xo
Effy
P.S. I know y’all are going to see the em-dashes in my writing and say AH HA! She uses AI! And you’re correct, but not for writing. I was delighted to discover the proper shortcut for em-dashes since all these years I’ve been using a dash instead, and I’ve adopted the use of the proper em-dash because GRAMMAR! *Giggles* In case you want to know, it’s option+shift+- on a Mac.
P.S. Again: Folks who are in my classes over on Into The Wild (my teaching network) or Patreon are getting video content every day throughout the course of this challenge. Folks who are subscribed to my YouTube channel will be getting video updates weekly or so. There may be stuff going up on TikTok. There will definitely be posts going up on Instagram.
Of course, this spot right here will ALSO serve as my studio diary, so I hope you’ll bookmark the site, and hey! EVEN BETTER! I hope you’ll sign up for the e-list, which I’ll use to let you know when a new post goes live. If you want the project PDF, here you go!
