For the past 216 days I have created a painting/sketch every day. For the first months I used a timer set at 60 seconds, no more, no less. In the beginning I tried out some different techniques and tools, and I quickly settled with Autodesk Sketchbook on the iPad pro. Simplicity was the key. You can just fire up the iPad, grab the Apple pencil, choose an object to draw and then you do it. Indeed, extremely fast, and simple. But there is a drawback: When you are travelling, the iPad is too cumbersome. That’s why I went to Panduro and bought a small artist sketchbook, some graphite pens, an eraser and a sharpener. As an artist, my kit is perhaps as portable as it gets, considering the infinite possibilities on offer. I was planning to use it only when travelling and go back to my iPad when I got home. As it turns out, I haven’t used my iPad for weeks now. I stayed with the pen and paper.

Education, Habits, PhilosophyRikard ÖqvistDecember 5, 2020learning, painting, sketching, art, graphite, apple, ipad, growth, focus, openness, creativity, schoolComment

Can you acquire a new skill in just one minute per day?

“I want to learn this or that, but I don’t have the time.” That is an excuse I have heard too often. I personally believe that you have got all the time in the world to learn something new if you really want it. The truth is just that you want other things more and prioritize accordingly. There is no shame in that, and you shouldn’t fool yourself. However, I want to find out how little time of daily practice you must invest to learn something new and become at least decent. My hypothesis is that it is possible to learn a new skill in just one minute of hyper-focused daily practice. One month ago, I started an experiment to find out.

Habits, Art, EducationRikard ÖqvistJune 6, 2020art, painting, drawing, sketching, speedsketching, 60seconds, illustrationComment