Well, I did it. Thirty days of painting in silence for ten minutes each day with no pressure to finish the painting.
And it’s a good thing there was no pressure to finish, because she is, indeed, unfinished. 🙂 Thankfully, I’ve carved out some time this month to sit with her for as long as she needs to get here there, so please stay tuned for that.
I’m going to do some work to integrate what I’ve learned over the course of these thirty days, film getting her all dolled up with the finishing touches I want her to have, and the present my thoughts, feels, and the finished painting at some point in the second week of December. I already have some idea of where I’m taking her, and it will be nice to sit down without a timer!
This was a really good experience for me, and I hope you enjoyed it, too. Here’s the video from Day Thirty so you can hear me ramble a bit about what’s to come.
I’ll see you again very 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!
It’s clear to me on this, the twenty-ninth day of the project that our girl will NOT be finished on the 30th, which is fine, because a finished painting wasn’t the point! Today was all about making some moves I wanted to make TOWARD finishing without panicking about ACTUALLY finishing.
I will finish her in the second week of December when I have the time to really sit with her for the length of time she needs. If you want to be updated about that, please subscribe to my newsletter here.Â
Today I added more black gesso where needed so I could extend the galaxy all around the figure.
Then I added more shading with a Dark Sepia Pitt Pen, and brighten the white of her eyes.
Tomorrow, she’ll have more galaxy!
See you then,
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!
Today was one of those “I know what I’m doing here, and I have a list the length of my arm to slay because it’s MONTH END omgDOOOOOOM, so I’m just going to take a few deep breaths and get it done.” days.
I have to say, I haven’t had many of those throughout the course of this month so far, but month end is month end, and deadlines are deadlines and they don’t care that I’m at the tail end of a month long project. 🙂
All I did today was bring some dimension back into her face with an Indian Red Pitt Pen. It’s very satisfying to me when doing so little does SO MUCH.
This painting will not be finished on Day 30 so there will be a special finale where I do finish it. The finale will be as long as it needs to be, and because I will have fulfilled my intention to do thirty days of silent painting, the finale itself will not be done in silence!
I’m going to be taking a week off before I finish, though, because it is also YEAR end. *Cries in entrepreneur*
I would normally do a Timelapse of the whole week but I’m going to hold off on that so I can include days 29 and 30.
You’ll have that on MONDAY. 🙂
Meanwhile, we have two more days left, so I’ll 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!
Today had a way less “don’t ask me, I just work here” vibe than the first couple of weeks of this practice, and much more of an “I know exactly what’s next, let’s heckin’ go!” vibe. And I’m loving it.
Let me explain. 🙂
Yesterday’s move to black out some of the background gave me this big, matte, velvety field of possibility around her head. (Bless black gesso forever and ever, so say we all.) I left the table with a clear idea. Tomorrow, I’m going to give her the cosmos. So when I lit my candle today, I wasn’t flailing. I wasn’t staring at her wondering where to even start. I already had my first move.
We’ve talked about this before, but today it really clicked. This isn’t a one-off trick. It is something I want to weave into my practice on purpose.
Metallic watercolour did all the heavy lifting today. Deep blue, royal purple, minty green, all bleeding into one another while everything was still wet.
Then the spatter: silver and gold, tiny starbursts across that new darkness. It was like watching a night sky grow itself in fast-forward. She really does look like she’s stepping forward out of the universe now with that little portal by her cheek echoing all that starlight.
I came in calm, thanks to past me, and I left… excited?! Definitely not buzzy, anxious, or panicked (and trust that “excited” can mimic those last three quite deceptively). Grounded. Ready to unwrap the wee prezzie I left for tomorrow.
There’s still so much that needs attention. Her face wants much deeper shading. The side that didn’t get the galaxy treatment is waiting for me to decide whether it’s going to stay more earthly, or whether I’m going to wrap the stars all the way around her. The trumpet flowers are raising their hands like “uh, excuse me? Oh hey, hi! What exactly are we in this story?” I’m already thinking about looking up their symbolism, maybe shifting the colour of the blooms away from the leaves so they read more clearly as something that means something rather than merely embellishment.
So, here’s where I am on Day 27.
I’m resisting the urge to rush to “finished.” I keep reminding myself that the goal is not a finished painting. When the project ends, the painting process *can* and most likely *will* continue. I can feel myself slipping into the phase where the big moves are mostly done and the real magic is in the light touches: deepening a shadow here, softening a transition there, making tiny decisions about what stays and what goes.
The next few days are going to be about honouring everything this painting has already given me and then quietly, patiently, helping her become more of what she already is.
The mindset that landed today is simple: leave tomorrow a wee prezzie.
 Yesterday I left myself the galaxy. Today I painted it, but I left myself the face to shade tomorrow. The day after, maybe I’ll have a think about the non-galaxy side. Eventually, but maybe NOT by Day 30 (which is ooooohkay), I’ll have a conversation with the trumpet flowers.
And because this painting INSISTS on doing double duty as both an icon and a life coach, it turns out that’s true in my life, too. When I stop trying to “wrap everything up” in one sitting and instead leave Future Me a clear first step, I might meet my life the way I met this painting today: calm going in, lit up coming out, already knowing what first step to take next time. This means that Future Me does not have to figure it all out from zero. She just has to pick up the brush (or the next item on the to do list) where I left it.
BUTANDALSO
This may not work for everyone, so I invite you to give it a try as an experiment. What happens when you decide on what tomorrow will bring? Does it trigger resistance? Does it make you excited or anxious, and are you checking to see if one is masquerading as the other? Or does it settle you down and give you a bridge to tomorrow’s practice?

 I’d love to hear how this lands with you.
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!
Confidence, I’m learning, is cumulative. The risk you take one day (like yesterday’s massive changes to the face) builds the courage you need for the next, or at least, that seems to be what arose for me since today, I felt truly emboldened by yesterday’s choices.
I’m feeling ready to move into the “home stretch” with this painting now (only FOUR DAYS LEFT WHAT?!) and focus not just on process, but on purpose—on what will look good and support her final presence.
I started with a bit of a fix to her neck, which was too thin and made her look like a bit of a bobble head. SO NOT THE VIBE I’M GOING FOR HERE, so out came the Iridescent light copper. I felt my shoulders drop when I made that change, because that supportive neck now feels just right.
The boldest move of the day, though, was to create a new ground where I could give her a sparkly aura —one that connects to the little universe by her face. I took the most assertive, opaque medium I’ve got in my toolbox—black gesso, my magic potion, my mixed media bestie—and created a new ground around her head. EEP!
Letting go like this, and that is exactly how it feels, is going to be necessary if you’re going to make room for what wants to come through next, though. The background, which supported me beautifully through every step of this process, is now becoming a distraction, and I don’t know about you, but I can’t achieve clarity if I’m distracted.
It felt incredibly empowering. It was the opposite of how I began—tentatively, without any idea of where this was going to take me. The final vision is now so important to me that I am willing to eliminate this entire background to serve that vision. It’s a little like the background was a safe and cosy nest, but this bird is growing up and needs to stretch her wings.
If you are moving into the “home stretch” of a project (or a phase in your life), you’re going to start thinking in terms of final decisions, and some of those decisions are going to be about what to keep, and what to release.
Once again, this painting is a life coach masquerading as an icon, and I’m not mad about it AT ALL. *Giggles*
Here’s my take away for today. Maybe it will serve you, too:
Be Bold: Don’t just glaze over the noise; cover it entirely if necessary. Use your most assertive medium to clear the way.
Trust Your Vision: The clarity you seek (the final purpose, the aura) requires the temporary shock of elimination (the blackout).
Serve the Purpose: Use elimination to frame, support, and elevate your final intended outcome.
I think we gain the confidence to eliminate things by first proving to that we can do that without ruining everything. Now, we get to use that confidence to pursue our vision.
See you tomorrow,Â
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!
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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!
