Author: lemsy

John LeMasney (lemsy) is an artist, graphic designer, and technology creative. He is located in beautiful Nelson County, VA, but works remotely with ease. Contact him at: lemasney@gmail.com to discuss your next creative project.

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On balance, or, an acrobat balancing on a tall, thin stick by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #illustration #cc #design

On balance, or, an acrobat balancing on a tall, thin stick by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #illustration #cc #design
On balance, or, an acrobat balancing on a tall, thin stick by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #illustration #cc #design
On balance, or, an acrobat balancing on a tall, thin stick by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #illustration #cc #design
On balance, or, an acrobat balancing on a tall, thin stick by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #illustration #cc #design

I’ve watched this great documentary called Circus on the Big Apple Circus on PBS. The amazing performers on the show inspired me to do this sketch. If you get a chance to check it out, please do.

pbs, circus, balance, performance, show, inkscape, design, open source, creative commons, sharism, lemasney, illustration

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317 of 365 is a light switch #drawing #Inkscape

Light switch drawing by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Light switch drawing by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

 

Light switch drawing by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Light switch drawing by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

My mother believed in having the lights on. She would seem to revel in the presence of television and radio background noise, several lamps on at once, and fans and air conditioners working together in the summer. She was not an environmentalist, but she did like being comfortable and illuminated. Despite my green views, I find it hard to fault her when it gave her such pleasure but I cringe a little at her former carbon footprint.

tags: mom, lights, electricity, light switch, environment, environmentalism, conservation, sustainability, drawing, wacom, Inkscape, open source, creative commons

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316 of 365 is a pair of scissors #Inkscape #drawing

 

Scissors
Scissors

Lately I’ve been remembering my mother by sketching objects in Inkscape that remind me of her. My mom worked on a heavy duty sewing machine quite a lot when I was a kid. She always had a fine set of scissors that I would use from time to time for really horrible-for-scissors tasks, like cutting wires, and she would get really upset. Now that I have fine tools of my own, it makes perfect sense why she was so upset. In this and many other ways she taught me to appreciate delicate instruments of creation and work. Thanks, Mom!

tags: mom, memory, scissors, cutting, respect, tools, Inkscape, drawing, 365, wacom, open source, creative commons, freedom

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315 of 365 is not reinventing the wheel #Inkscape #design #philosophy

 

On experience
On experience

There have been many times in my life when I’ve been tempted to build from scratch. Especially in web based projects, I’m often told that no preexisting solution or framework will be able to help me to solve a given problem. I stopped taking that advice and learned a very long time ago that we have several beautiful and continuously improved interfaces for searching the depths of recorded history, that every problem I’ve encountered has likely been long solved by someone else, and that they more often than not have written about their experience, sometimes going as far as to document the solutions with illustrated steps. Building from scratch may do something for your ego, but does very little for your productivity. And I’ve yet to find someone who cares significantly about the extra work you did to get up to speed with a better solution that was already out there.

tags: history, google, originality, productivity, intentions, Inkscape, typography, type, words, 365, open source, creative commons

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Fork by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #Inkscape #drawing #food #cc

Fork by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #Inkscape #drawing #food
Fork by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #Inkscape #drawing #food
Fork by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #Inkscape #drawing #food
Fork by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #Inkscape #drawing #food

We buried mom today. If there’s one thing that stands out about my common experience with her, it is a mutual appreciation of great food. She was a wonderful and deeply resourceful chef, but she also loved to go out to have a great meal. As time went on and especially after Dad died, we spent most of our time together going out to eat. She would always enjoy comfort foods, and the easier to chew the better. She noted the success of a place by how well they cooked chopped sirloin with gravy and onions with a side of mashed potatoes. I plan to celebrate her memory with that meal often in the future.

tags: mom, food, steak, potatoes, soup, salad, fork, silverware, drawing, design, Inkscape, memory, open source, creative commons, sharism

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313 of 365 is a portrait of my mom #Inkscape

Marie J. LeMasney (1933-2010)
Marie J. LeMasney (1933-2010)

 

Marie J. LeMasney (1933-2010)
Marie J. LeMasney (1933-2010)

So later today (this is yesterday’s sketch) we’re going to say our final goodbyes to mom. She was a beautiful woman in lots of different ways.