💎 I think I found the cure to art block
Gem #73 A simple challenge.
Bonjour my little demon,
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TODAY’S GEM
This portrait took me five weeks:
FIVE. DAMN. WEEKS.
And today, I want to talk about it.
Welcome to Portrait Gem #73 where I restarted the same portrait 4 times.
1- Nothing went as planned.
It started with a concept sheet.
You know, that fun phase where you explore ideas, references, vibes. I was having so much fun, I thought: “Great, the art block is gone. We’re back.”
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Confident and excited, I started the fully rendered version.
First attempt: the proportions felt off. Too realistic. It didn’t even look like my work.
Let’s restart.
Second attempt: I pushed all the way to the shading… and hated it. Too messy. Too muddy. No soul.
Let’s restart.
Third attempt: I erased so much I tore the paper. A literal hole in the drawing. The art gods said no.
I have to restart. Again.
At that point, I was ready to give up but I shared the story on social media. And your responses? Your kindness? It pulled me back in.
So I tried one last time. The fourth attempt.
2 – The final attempt.
Before restarting, I reread your messages.
And one comment kept coming back: “You’re way too hard on yourself.”
And it hit me.
You weren’t seeing the “failures” I saw.
I was the one zooming in on tiny flaws, spiraling into self-sabotage.
So I came back to the paper with a different mindset.
Not “how can I make this perfect?”
But: “how can I finish this—and enjoy the ride?”
This time, I made three promises to myself:
Don’t stop just because it feels uncomfortable.
Don’t erase just because it’s not perfect.
And please… go easy on the paper. We’ve sacrificed enough of those already.
3- Precious lessons.
In the end, the process was painful but I came out with three precious lessons:
Art block isn’t about skill. It’s about ego. The more I tried to prove something, the more I froze. My eyes zoomed in on every flaw, and I couldn’t move forward.
It’s okay to be slow. I hated admitting it, but I wasn’t in my normal state. Five weeks for a portrait that usually takes me one. But pretending I was fine only made it worse.
When I stop having fun, everything goes wrong. That was the big one. The concept sheet felt light and free. I was playing. I was hopeful. But the rendering? That’s when I got serious. Strategic. Pressured. That’s when things fell apart.
And all of that gave me an idea…
Conclusion : art block cure
How do you get out of the art block spiral?
If pressure kills the joy, and overthinking leads to block…
Then maybe the answer is simple:
More drawings. Less ego.
What if I stopped obsessing over the perfect portrait… and just focused on finishing one character per week?
What if the remedy to cure art block is a simple challenge?
🎊 One week = one spirit portrait 🎊
No more endless tweaking. No more erasing the soul out of a piece.
Just momentum. Practice. Discovery.
And the best part?
I’ll have so many more characters to share inside my upcoming Patreon.
🎯 The launch is Friday, October 24 — for 3 days only.
Founders will get exclusive perks and a permanent discount.
🖤 Want early access and the best rewards?
Voilà, that’s all for me.
Bisou,
Léa.
Congratulations, you did it! 🙌 She turned out great 👌
I’m printing this and putting up in my classroom.