Our Brains On Art

One of the most compelling lectures on art I have ever watched. V.S. Ramachandran expressing his theories of why the brain loves art from a science point of view and what it is about art that it likes, no matter the culture or geography and at one point even species! This 1 hour and 30 minuets will stay with me for a life time!

2.5 Hour Sketchbook Attempt

In the past two days I have completed 94, 2.5 to 3 minuet illustrations!
As an attempt to complete a sketchbook in 2.5 hours, which I failed, I managed 94 drawings in about 3.5 to 4 hours!

The hardest thing about this challenge is putting pen to paper before you even know what you are drawing because guess what! you don't have time to think about. That's the whole point to this exercise. 

For more, check out my blog and don't forget to like the face book or follow the twitter page

My 5 Favourite Sketchbook Vloggers

For me, the one thing that guarantees inspiration for picking up my sketchbook is having a look at other people’s. There are some pretty insane sketchbooks out there! and people use them in some interesting ways. Some people’s are full of perfectly finished illustrations while others are a little more down to earth and are full of quick ideas and scribbles. Some are full of glued in pictures and mixed media, some just pen and pencil, some are themed all the way through and some are full of loads of different eccentric topics. There are so many too, so you’ll never run out.
In todays blog are some of my favorites that I always tend to watch when I’m on a sketchbook low, and they always put my pencil to paper in no time! 

        Today you'll have to visit my blog so

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                 365 Day Sketchbook Challenge

A Magical Fact About Our Pencils

I read a short paragraph today I wanted to share with you. Something to think about that adds mystery to the already magical tool we call a pencil.

“Graphite is a form of natural carbon, created, like coal, by the pressure of the earth on the decaying forests of pre-history.”
-The Artist’s Handbook 3rd edition by Ray Smith

So the next time you are staring at a blank sheet of paper, just consider for a moment the ancient land from whence your graphite came.

Don’t forget to follow on Twitter or Facebook and join our 365 day sketchbook challenge

For this post I do not own or have any rights to the picture as it is taken from Google images

Time Management For Creative People

The thing I find most challenging about being productive as an artist is finding, and not easily losing, the time to immerse myself in the cosmos of stimulating things in a directed enough way to draw from. I am sure it will be the same for many whether it is the latest found TV series and movies, subjects you want to dive into or places and activities you want to experience, there never seems to be enough time in the day. Especially when life starts calling with it’s responsibilities and obligations.
So what can we do?
Well first of all, Since time wasted is time you will never get back, it is important to spend it wisely! Remember that somethings that are urgent are not necessarily important, so make sure you put the right things on your priority list. If you allow people to, they will delegate enough tasks to you that you will spend all your time building their dreams and not your own. It’s OK not to answer your phone or not check your emails until the end of the day.

The most useful thing I have found is the use of a day planner and they don’t have to be boring! from travelers notebooks to Filofax hobbyists there are planners and ways of organizing time for everyone to use. The key word there is “use!”.

It allows us to track our time to; get that “to do” list done, complete goals, remember important dates, and even guilt trip yourself into getting more done when you look back at what you know you could have done yesterday but didn’t. It enables you to find that time to scout cool art on Pinterest, watch those seasons of doctor who and read or even write that book you’ve been wanting to and even have the time to work in your sketchbook!

However, scheduling is not enough by itself. A better term for time management is self management. Self management is built on good habits, the habit of getting up early, the habit of getting things done on your list and the habit of staying on top of your time. Which is where eye catching and visually stimulating planners like these come in! If you Love your planner you will be more likely to open it up and look inside at the days date, thus becoming more aware of your plans and be able to see if you are using your time wisely rather than wasteful. My best advice for this is to make it as gorgeous as you can and carry it on you at ALL times! And whether it’s a rainbow candy colored Filofax or a soulful Midori travelers notebook, when you find what suits you you’ll also find yourself being far more productive!

Don’t forget to check out the facebook page, twitter page or our 365 day sketchbook challenge group

I have no rights to these photo’s today I found them all on google images! ;-)

Green Hosting Is Here!

Greendata!

I am so excited to let you guys all know about this new start up company that is making history in New Zealand for environmentally friendly hosting!

“Green Data Ltd. is New Zealands first totally committed environmentally responsible, carbon neutral, data and web hosting company.”

 Please show your support for our planet by showing support for greendata! you can do this by having a Look at their site Greendata.co.nz and by liking and sharing their facebook page with your friends.

Most of todays information will be found on the green data website except my daily sketch, a special sketch shout out to my future host!

Geeks and Graphite: What It's All About

What we've been up to at GeeksandGraphite.com

I started a 365 Day sketchbook challenge facebook group for everyone to get involved in. I hope to encourage artists out there to develop the habit of working on their talents daily and give everyone a chance to share their work and collaborate with others no matter your skill level or experience. So have a look and if you'd like, get involved. Daily updates are great but you can post when ever you have some art of your own to share ;)

Projects and blogs will be updated on the main website which you can keep up to date on with the blog facebook page and twitter
I will be moving the main website to a new host soon so it'll be a lot cooler, especially as I learn to develop it, so keep an eye on this space as it grows because i have a vision and it is EPIC :)

Today I have something special planned for the challenge and will be posting about the coolest new hosting site i will be moving to, I really think you'll like these guys and what makes them different and Oh So Cool!

Please support this project by liking subscribing and sharing!
and don’t forget to keep up to date with our Facebook and/or our Twitter