Underpainting
the plan underneath your plan
Before painters add detail, they lay down an underpainting: a rough first layer that maps out where everything goes, so every stroke after it has something to build on. We do that for your website, app or project.
A small community and 1:1 project sessions for people who are experts in their own field and are building a website, app or project of their own. We help you work out what to do next, sit with you while you do it, and keep the work turning into results.
Does any of this sound like you?
- Your website hasn't changed in ages, and you know it's holding you back.
- You've started building something, maybe with AI help, and now you're not sure how to make it real.
- You know what you want to make or do, but not what goes into making it happen.
- You have more ideas than time, and no idea which one matters most.
- You keep meaning to post, update or fix things, and it keeps sliding to next week.
- You're great at your actual job. Nobody ever showed you how this kind of project gets run.
That's not a character flaw. Like a painting that keeps getting reworked, most of this work never really "finishes". It needs something solid underneath, a steady rhythm, and people around you.
The layers you can’t see yet
You can picture the finished thing. What you can't see yet is everything underneath it, the layers nobody tells you about. Where it lives online, what privacy rules apply, how payments work, what needs to be secure, what happens when something breaks. It's hard to plan for things you don't know exist.
We help you sketch those layers in first: what's involved, what order it goes in, what can wait, and where you need a specialist like a lawyer or accountant. Then we break it into pieces small enough to actually do.
How it works
A weekly work session · free
Once a week we meet on video, say what we're each working on, then work quietly side by side for an hour, like artists sharing a studio. (Some people call this body doubling.) It's free with sign-up.
Sign up for the work session · time to be announced
A small community
A private chat space where members share what they're working on, ask questions, and show what they've made. On our own server, with no ads and no algorithm.
1:1 project sessions and a plan you can see
Two 45-minute sessions a month. We gather up whatever notes, ideas and half-finished pieces you have, and sort them into one shared online page: what you're doing now, what's next, what can wait, and what's done. It's the underpainting for your project: rough at first, filled in as you go, and a record of how far you've come.
You can open it any time, so you never have to hold the whole project in your head or work out where you left off. We look at it together in every session and adjust it as things change.
What changes
- Not knowing what you don’t knowSeeing what’s underneath before you start
- Ideas scattered across notes, tabs and your headOne plan you can open any time
- Not sure which thing matters mostKnowing what's next, and why
- “I’ll get to it next week”A weekly hour where it actually happens
- Stuck on a question with no one to askPeople to ask, and people working alongside you
- Starting from scratch every time you come backPicking up right where you left off
- Busy, but not sure it’s going anywhereWork turning into results you can see
Who it's for
People who are good at what they do, whatever that is, and who now also find themselves running a website, app or project of their own. You know your field deeply. You don't need a technical background, and you don't need to want one. You own the site, app or project, and you make the calls. It's your painting. We help with what goes underneath.
It isn't a done-for-you service. If you need hands-on help with a specific job, we can quote it separately.
Membership
Community
- The weekly work session
- The members' community space
- Cancel any time
Community + 1:1
- Everything in Community
- Two 45-minute 1:1 sessions a month
- A shared plan for your project: now, next, later, done
- Feedback between sessions
Can't afford it right now? Ask for free or reduced access. Tell us a bit about your situation and what you can pay ($0 is fine). No proof needed. There are a limited number of places. Request access
Questions
Do I need to be technical?
No. You never need to open a code editor. We talk about your project in your terms, not jargon.
Will you build it for me?
That's not what membership is. You stay in charge of your own work, and we help you plan it, prioritise it and keep it moving. If there's a specific job you'd rather hand off, ask and we'll quote it.
What if my project never really "finishes"?
Most don't, and that's fine. Painters rework a canvas for years, and websites, apps and projects keep going too. The goal is steady progress toward the results you want from it.
Who runs Underpainting?
Your sessions are with the project manager who runs Underpainting, who has spent years turning messy piles of ideas into plans that actually get done.
Can I cancel?
Yes, any time, from your account. Beta members keep the price they join at for as long as they stay.
Privacy
This site has no trackers, no analytics, no ads and no cookies. The community, login and project plans run on our own small servers, not on an ad platform. Payments go through Stripe. We never sell or share your information.