Paint Session help

Keep your next painting session simple.

Quick answers for iPhone and iPad. Version 1.0 · Updated September 8, 2026.

Start or resume a painting

1. Open Projects. The featured Continue Painting card opens your most recently updated active piece. Use + for a new project.
2. Choose a template or start blank. Name the painting, then use Continue to steps to plan your process. Templates contain optional documentation prompts, not observations you have already made.
3. Save the project. Tap any step's circle to check it, or tap its name to edit its text and notes. You do not have to follow a fixed sequence.
4. Add a dated entry in Painting Journal when you want to record what happened. A Note for next session is a separate reminder, not a step that advances automatically.

Edit a template or make a copy

Built-in templates are starting points: choose Customize Template to save your own version in My Templates. Open your saved template and choose Edit Template to update that same item. Save Copy creates a separate reusable plan. Cancel leaves the saved version unchanged.

Saving opens the exact saved template. Choose Start Project to create an independent painting from it. Editing a template later does not change paintings you already started. The + button in My Templates lets you begin from a template or start blank.

Add reference photos

Projects and templates have a reference gallery. Choose Add Reference Photos to select several images, then add more in another selection. Remove an individual copy or change its order in the gallery; the first image is its cover. The original images in Photos stay unchanged.

The gallery supports up to 50 reference images, with a 4 MiB stored limit per image and a 32 MiB combined photo limit per project or template. A project's combined limit includes its journal photos. Large images may be resized. If a selection cannot be prepared or exceeds a limit, follow the visible error and keep your existing draft; a failed batch must not quietly replace earlier photos.

A new project started from a saved template copies its references. Reusing a painting plan or saving that painting's plan as a template starts without its private project photos. Journal photos are separate from reference photos and are not copied as new progress history. Required photos or notes for individual steps are not currently enforced.

Record sessions without rewriting history

A journal entry can contain a date, title, notes and one progress photo. Edit or delete an entry through its controls. A new entry changes the project reminder only when you choose Also use as my project reminder. Checking a step does not rewrite that reminder, and editing an old session does not invent new completed work.

Share a PDF or move an editable project

Share Project PDF produces a read-only report of the saved plan, notes, reference images and dated journal. Review it before sharing: it can contain more detail than a shortened on-screen card. The system share sheet offers destinations available on your device, which may include saving, messaging and printing.

For an editable copy, open Project options → Export Editable Backup. On the other device, use Settings → Import Project Backup as Copy. Import creates a separate project; it does not replace the original. There is no automatic synchronization. Project exports do not include your separate My Templates collection.

For a reusable template, use Export Editable Template Backup from the saved template or its options. In My Templates, choose Import Template Backup as Copy. Each import creates a new template with independent identities, ordered steps, prompts, notes and reference photos. Use the matching import command for project or template backups.

Backups are not password-protected or encrypted by Paint Session. Version 1.0 supports the current gallery-capable project format and earlier supported formats. Do not downgrade after saving with a newer version.

If a save, import or photo fails

Keep the app installed and preserve your draft. Check free storage and the exact message; try a smaller supported JPEG, PNG or HEIC image where appropriate. If another change is detected, return to the saved item and reopen it before editing again. Canceling an import or picker does not save a new item.

Safety limits are 30 projects, 100 saved templates, 80 steps per plan and 50 journal entries per project. Recently Deleted holds a separate 30 projects and 100 templates. Moving an item there frees one library slot. If recovery is full, explicitly remove an unneeded recovered item permanently, or restore it when a library slot is available. Nothing is automatically purged to make room. Exporting alone does not free a slot.

Delete, restore or remove permanently

Open a project and choose Project options → Delete Project, or touch and hold its card. Confirm to move its steps, notes, photos and journal to Recently Deleted in Projects. Undo or Restore brings back the original record. Deleting a saved template similarly moves it to Recently Deleted in My Templates; independent paintings remain unchanged.

Recently Deleted has no automatic expiration. To remove a recovered item from the app, choose Delete Permanently and confirm its name. This cannot be undone in Paint Session. Export first if needed: recovered templates can be exported directly; restore a project before exporting it. Prior exports, original Photos images, shared files and device backups remain separate.

Devices, storage and purchases

Paint Session is available on the App Store for iPhone with iOS 17 or later and iPad with iPadOS 17 or later. One purchase includes all current features, with no subscription or in-app purchases. U.S. price: $5.99; the App Store displays the applicable local price and availability before purchase.

Deleting the app can remove its local projects and templates. Previously exported files, messages and Apple-managed backups may retain separate copies. We do not operate an account-based recovery service. See the app-specific privacy policy for details.