I completed this piece yesterday after working on it for about a month, on and off. Despite its small size, the level of detail involved was extremely time-consuming. A large factor that slowed down the process was also the decisions that had to be made: whether to color it or not once I was done drawing the outline, for example.
The tricky thing once you start liking an artwork you are making is that you become more and more afraid of messing it up. The further you are in the process, the more this feeling creeps up that every stroke or line or color risks derailing the image. But you shouldn't let that stifle you; I've learned that to be overly precious in this way is only going to limit creativity.
The freedom to take risks and play around is an essential part of making art, and it's definitely harder when you care about the image you've painstakingly assembled until now. It is a mental practice, I think, to be able to keep yourself in a state of exploration all the while being rational and careful enough not to ruin an artwork with too much randomness.
All this was going through my head while making this piece. Fittingly, patience bearing fruit is exactly the meaning of the Tarot card I based this drawing on, the 7 of Pentacles. This is the archetype of the Gardener, the one who can balance sowing and waiting, creating and letting be. Every minute in the month that passed creating this piece, something was growing unconsciously that would eventually let me know the right way to finish it. Simply put, trust the creative process.
Un processus d'exploration avec la crainte de perdre pied ou l'équilibre et au même moment y aller sans hésitations... Je comprends! Merci de partager les réponses et les questions de la démarche!