There are moments in the studio when nothing is really blocked… and yet something feels off.

It’s not a lack of ideas, and it’s not that I don’t want to draw. It’s more a quiet feeling that what I’m doing is starting to repeat itself.

 

That’s exactly what happened to me recently. When I looked at my drawings and paintings, I realized they all shared the same logic: the same colors, the same balance, the same habits. Everything was working… but nothing was really surprising anymore.

This kind of comfort is tricky. It feels good, because it allows you to work easily and confidently. But at the same time, it can slowly limit your creativity. You keep drawing, but you stop exploring.

 

Why It’s so hard to leave your comfort zone

Leaving your comfort zone in drawing is not just about “trying something new”. It often means losing your usual references.

Even something simple, like changing colors, can affect everything. Suddenly, you’re not sure what works anymore. You have to think more, adjust more, and nothing feels automatic.

In my case, it was just one thing: a tube of cobalt violet paint that I had never really used. It sounds simple, but it created a real hesitation.

Not only because of the fear of failing — that one is always there — but also because of the loss of flow. When you don’t know what you’re doing anymore, everything becomes slower, less fluid.

A simple way to restart your creative process

Instead of forcing a big change, I decided to shift my starting point.

This time, I started with color instead of drawing. I placed colors on the paper without a clear plan, just to create something to react to.

This small change had a big impact. Instead of controlling everything from the beginning, I had to respond to what was already there.

It became less about planning, and more about adapting. And in that space, something started to move again.

Finding your style by accepting uncertainty

This way of working doesn’t guarantee a better result, and that’s not really the goal.

What matters is the shift it creates.

Over time, I’ve realized that feeling stuck in drawing is not always about lacking ideas. Often, it comes from holding on to a way of working that no longer fits. And sometimes, you don’t need to change everything. A small shift is enough.

A different tool.
A new color.
Another way to begin.

These small changes can open new directions, because they force you to see differently and adapt. And often, that’s where things start to evolve.

🎥 Watch the process

I filmed this moment in the studio, if you’d like to see how it unfolded:

🌿 Go further

👉 If you’d like to explore this approach to gesture, expression, and letting go, I share more in my online course

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