Bonjour my little demon,
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TODAY’S GEM
Monday morning. I’m supposed to be on vacation.
And yet, I’m running around—prepping my DTIYS challenge, cleaning graphite dust off my fingers, rearranging the last plants in my new studio like I’m moving into a gallery instead of resting for once.
I keep telling myself I’ll slow down after. After this launch. After this email. After one last task. But I’ve been doing this for years now, and somehow, after never comes.
Every summer, I tell myself I deserve a break. And every summer, I end up in the same place—overworked, emotionally flat, barely able to sketch without feeling like I’m pulling teeth.
You’d think I’d learn by now.
But here’s the thing I’ve come to understand : taking a break is not easy for artists.
Not because we’re machines. But because we care. Deeply. And somewhere along the way, we started linking rest with laziness. Productivity with worth. When we’re not creating, we feel like we’re falling behind. We panic at the idea of becoming irrelevant.
But art doesn’t grow in constant movement. It needs stillness too.
So this week, I’m trying to do things differently.
I’m walking through Paris, notebook in my bag, no agenda. Letting myself wander through bookstores, parks, museums, forgotten corners.
Letting myself look.
Just look. (And eat a lot too)
I’m not creating, but I am absorbing.
And that counts too.
I’ll be back next week with something lighter—a little tour of my new studio.
It’s nearly finished, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
That’s all for me.
Bisou,
Léa.
🔥 TODAY’S TRIBE SPOTLIGHT 🔥
Quick reminder: my DTIYS challenge is live until August 17th! Here’s a cute student entry from to spark your inspiration 👀
That is a very cute DTIYS. Also, as I am a very productive person, I to know the struggle. I go to my 9-5 job, go to the gym to stay healthy and then spend my nights trying to draw and get back into the grind of art Monday through Friday. And then the weekends are used to get everything I can't get squeezed into the week done along with art. I really know the feeling. As im coming up on a vacation myself, I am very much looking forward to it. Keep inspiring and creating, but please always find time for your self Léa 🙏 ❤️