These are posts featuring illustrations designed by John LeMasney. In general, unless otherwise noted, they are licensed CC-Attribution, cc-by lemasney, and should contain a citation and linkback.
This is a sketch of a cupcake: one of the things I sometimes crave, but seldom have. When I have it, it’s a special occasion, and I deeply, thoroughly enjoy it. I tried to capture my enjoyment of this tiny, decadent bite of joy in this sketch using Inkscape, the open source digital illustration software.
If you like it, please consider getting one of your own! Just email me at lemasney@gmail.com and let’s discuss what you’d like.
I have always had cats since the age of about 9. I don’t have anything against dogs, really, though I was bit by a doberman when I was very young, and it may have had a lasting psychological effect. At any rate, I tend to feel calm when I have a cat around, and I wanted to capture the calm I feel in this illustration.
Maybe you have a cat you’d like a portrait of? You can get one right now by emailing me at lemasney@gmail.com
As far back as I can remember, I was always drawn to investigating my mother’s sewing equipment. She would always tell the story of how I took apart a week-old (very expensive) sewing machine to see if I could figure out how it worked when I was five. TL:DR: I took it apart, but did not ever get it back together. I redeemed myself with computer repair later, but my interest in how things worked was present very early on. One of the few things I took from the estate when my mother died was a pair of Fiskar scissors, and they remind me of her creativity, her forgiveness, and her outward frightened reaction every time I wanted to use them to cut something that would surely have damaged the blades.
If you like this illustration, maybe you’d like one of your own? You can get one done right now by contacting me at lemasney@gmail.com
A computer mouse
When I sketch for fun, I usually focus on the thing that’s closest to me. I tend to draw a lot of mouses, as a direct result of this. This one was done in the open source digital painting application, Krita.
I really enjoy rendering tools. Tools of any kind, really. I think of tools as a kind of shout out to humanity.
I made this in the open source digital painting tool called Krita. I like how its huge variety of brushes allows me to have smoky effects in some places, and watercolor-like effects in other areas. I have always liked creating history and texture in an otherwise quiet background, and this still life allowed nicely for that to happen.
If you like this spoon, maybe you’d like your very own fork? Head over to the “Get an illustration!” page to learn more, and thanks for visiting.
There’s nothing quite so tasty, in my opinion, as a cold, ripe, crisp golden delicious apple in the bearing-down heat of the summer sun. I captured this one using Inkscape’s calligraphy tool.