📲 Why you should scroll down your favorite artist profile.
#45 or how to love your art
Hey my demon 👋
Welcome to the edition #45 of the Art Missive! We are 5,260 😈 in this newsletter. Whether you have been here from the beginning or you have just arrived, thank you so much for reading ❤.
✨ IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ✨
"Reality to Fantasy," the portrait course I've created for you, launches next Wednesday (November 22nd).
This is your final opportunity to join the waiting list and get access to a free 20-minute video tutorial on stylized portraits + an exclusive discount for the course.
You wouldn't want to miss out on this, so click here to get your guide and your discount.
In this Art Missive
1/ Introduction.
2/ Unhealthy mindset.
3. Suck, first.
4. Work in progress.
5. Conclusion: shortcuts.
1/ Introduction.
For a while, my mindset was horrible. I was striving for perfection. I was constantly depreciating myself, comparing myself to other artists in the most unhealthy ways.
And that clearly had a negative impact on my art practice.
Of course, with such a mindset, Art block hit.
And social media played a big part in this blockage, as I was constantly facing people who were doing a better job than me.
But it’s also social media that helped me overcome this.
Welcome to edition #45 of the Art Missive, where I give you my personal ultimate trick to stay motivated and confident in your art.
2/ Unhealthy mindset.
I don't want to promote unhealthy habits.
You know me well, and you know that - to me - having a Growth Mindset as an artist is already half the battle.
Constantly comparing yourself to other artists is the worst thing you can do if you want to progress.
But I haven't always had this mindset. Far from it. On some of my lowest days, when I felt like giving up, I used to do something almost compulsive and irrational: scroll through the profile of an artist I admired…
Only to realize just how much better they were than me and how I'd never reach their level. And I'd get so caught up in the comparison and self-depreciation cycle that I'd end up scrolling back to their early days.
Unhealthy, right? But strangely, doing this made me realize two truths.
These truths helped me love my art again, and focus on my journey.
And that’s when I started improving drastically.
3/ Suck, first.
If you scroll through the feeds of your favorite artists all the way back to their beginnings, you'll realize one important thing. Get ready; it's shocking.
Your favorite artist, the one you admire so much, was really terrible when they started. Why? Because everyone is. It's like expecting someone to play like LeBron James the first time they touch a basketball. So why do we forget this rule when it comes to art?
This reality flipped my perspective upside down. And all the greatest artists agree on one thing: you have to suck, first.
It means that mistakes are truly part of the process.
Without bad choices, you can’t learn.
Without imperfections, you can’t improve.
Without messing up, you can’t reach your goals.
So do this when you don't like what you're creating and feel like giving up.
👉Remember that it’s not just you. Every single artist has to go through the same situation. What makes you a great artist is your ability to overcome it.
👉 Replace any unhealthy thoughts like “I suck, I’m hopeless” by affirmations like "my art is imperfect now so it can become extraordinary later."
👉 Turn your self-criticism into something positive. Remember that if you think you suck, it means you’ve already improved, and you are now able to see things you couldn't before.
And that will teach you to forget about expectations and focus on what's important: intention and progress.
4/ Work in progress.
What happens when you scroll through your favorite artist's profile and realize that back in 2012, they were already amazing?
Well, you're facing the fact that when you were 12 years old, this artist was already at a professional level, or close to it.
It means that the person you admire so much, the art you want to achieve, took years, even decades, to build. You realize that behind these simple lines, these clean choices, these impressive renderings, there are:
Years of work.
And above all, an artist who, like you, doubted, wanted to give up but kept going.
So yes, facing this mountain of work can be daunting. But for me, it was a wake-up call.
I thought to myself, "Who am I to try to achieve in a day what this artist has spent their whole life building?"
With social media, we often forget... but art takes time.
👉 So, stop seeing your journey as a sprint and switch to "marathon" mode.
👉 Enjoy every small victory.
👉 Build a long-term vision.
👉 Be kind to yourself.
And above all, be patient. Because Rome wasn't built in a day.
5/ Conclusion: the shortcut.
These two lessons have led me to an important conclusion:
When building your art is already a long journey, it's crucial to identify the right methods and effective shortcuts to improve quickly and effectively.
Otherwise, you stagnate, fall back, and give up.
I know what I'm talking about. The progress I've made in 3 years could have been achieved in 3 months.
But I was alone, without a mentor and without guidance.
While you have me.
And I’ve been working for months on this portrait course so you can accomplish in weeks what took me years.
I'm thrilled to announce that this course, my genuine gift to you, will be available starting Wednesday!
But in the meantime, I've prepared a FREE video tutorial where we hang out in my studio and create a poetic demon girl together, from initial brainstorming to final rendering.
The first students of this masterclass will receive an exclusive discount on the upcoming course! So don't wait any longer and click here (no longer available) to access this free tutorial video.
That’s all for me, see you next monday!