💎 Drawing this fixed my art.
Gem #51 – My art block cure
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In this Gem
I’m sitting in my studio. It’s Wednesday.
My camera is rolling, my iPhone is set up on its tripod, ready to shoot.
References lined up. Pencils sharpened.
Alright. Let’s draw.
Except… nothing happens.
I stare at the blank page. Lift my pencil. Nothing feels right.
First sketch—awful. I scribble over it, flip the page.
Second attempt—off. Another scribble.
Third time? Impossible.
And that’s when I think: What a fraud. I’m supposed to be a pro artist, and I can’t even draw.
At that moment, I just hated my art...
1- Never about skills
Every artist hits this wall. The frustration. The doubt. That creeping thought: Maybe I’ve lost it.
I used to think it meant I wasn’t skilled enough. That if I just practiced more, pushed harder, I’d break through.
But after years of running in circles, I know the truth:
It’s never about skill.
Art paralysis isn’t about ability—it’s about how you feel about your art.
When creating turns into a performance—when every piece has to be worth sharing, when every session carries the weight of expectations—something shifts. You stop experimenting. You stop playing.
And without that, making art becomes impossible.
I learned this the hard way : in 2024, I buried my creativity under the weight of my art business. Burned out. Disappeared from social media for eight months. This time, it has to be different. I’m not exhausted—just disconnected. Life got busy, and my art got lost in the noise. So before it slips away again, I’m trying something new.
2- Art needs space.
I realized creativity needs space.
Space to experiment. Space to fail. Space to play.
But for months, I hadn’t given it any. Life had been so busy that every drawing had to serve a purpose—content to post, a product to sell, something to show. No wonder I felt stuck.
So I forced a reset.
I grabbed my smallest sketchbook. No camera. No pressure. No plan. Just a space to explore, to draw without thinking about the outcome.
And slowly, something shifted. A face appeared. Then an idea.
The spark came back, not through forcing it, but by allowing it.
By letting go of expectations, releasing the pressure, and focusing only on the act of creation itself. No end goal, no judgment—just being present with the process. And in that moment, everything started to flow again.
3- Watch my art block cure.
I loved this concept so much that I took it further—refining the portrait, polishing the details, and pushing the flower fairy theme with a second piece.
And this time, I recorded the session. While drawing, I also talked about techniques to overcome art block—things that actually helped me break through.
You can watch it [here].
One thing I’ve learned: a blank page can feel impossible, but a sketchbook full unfiltered, pressure-free of ideas makes it easier to start.
What about you? How do you get past creative blocks? Let’s talk in the comments.
Voilà, that’s all for today.
Bisou,
Léa
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