There’s a moment every artist knows.

The one where the idea feels clear, almost obvious. You can see exactly what you want to do… and yet, once it’s on paper, it doesn’t quite work.

It’s not wrong. It’s not a failure. But it’s not it.

In my last session, that’s exactly where I found myself. I started by trying a different approach—no water, working large. And very quickly, that familiar feeling came back. Something wasn’t clicking. Nothing obvious, nothing clearly “wrong,” just a persistent gap between what I had in mind and what was actually appearing.

Changing approach instead of forcing

Instead of pushing through, I changed direction. I went back to a smaller format, something simpler and more flexible, with a different reference… and with water again. And most importantly, I started repeating.

Several drawings. Same pose. Same energy.

The first one didn’t convince me. Neither did the second. And then a third one appeared—almost by accident—using leftover paint I didn’t want to waste. And that’s when something shifted.

It often happens right there. Not when we force things, but when we loosen our expectations.

Why repetition changes everything

Repetition changes the way we see. With each attempt, we understand a little more, we adjust without even noticing, we become more precise without trying to control everything.

It’s not by “thinking better” that we get closer, but by doing more.

And especially by accepting that the first attempts are not results, but steps.

We often assume the problem is a lack of skill. But most of the time, what really blocks us is simply that we don’t leave enough room for exploration.

We want things to work immediately.

But it’s precisely in that gap—between intention and result—that the work becomes interesting.

We will never recreate exactly what we have in mind. But that’s not really the goal. What matters is getting closer to it, and sometimes discovering something even more interesting along the way.

🎥 Watch the process

If you’d like to see how this unfolded in practice, I documented the full session here:

If you enjoy this kind of process and reflection, I share more of it in my Studio Practice newsletter, every other week — where I talk about drawing, experimentation, and what actually helps you move forward.