Love was that moment when... - Stieg Larsson CC-BY lemasney
Love was that moment when… – Stieg Larsson CC-BY lemasney
Love was the moment when… – Stieg Larsson
“Karl Stig-Erland “Stieg” Larsson (/stiːɡ ˈlɑrsən/; Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkaɭ ˈstiːɡ ˈæɭand ˈlaʂɔn]; 15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish journalist and writer. He is best known for writing the “Millennium trilogy” of crime novels, which were published posthumously. Larsson lived much of his life in Stockholm and worked there in the field of journalism and as an independent researcher of right-wing extremism. He was the second best-selling author in the world for 2008, behind Khaled
This is the first illustrated quote of this project, and I think it’s apt. Let’s break it down. This is a common thought, and so in this case, not attributed to anyone in particular. There are many quotes that involve this idea, and you can see some of these at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/one_thing.html
This is a mindfulness quote, essentially meaning ‘don’t try to do two things at once, because you are less likely to do either of those as well as doing one alone’. The phrase “do just one thing” takes a much more positive approach to the notion, in affirming the active idea, e.g. doing one thing well.
On the use of “just”.
It also uses the word just, which could have multiple meanings. For instance, you might read just as “only”, or solely. However, I like to think that it might be used as a verb here, as in do justice to one single thing by spending the time and attention necessary to do that one thing well.
This illustrated quote was made in Inkscape, the open source digital vector illustration program. It uses Didot as its font with a tight kern, and a minimalist off-black, deep red, and newsprint tone with a vignette treatment.
If you like this quote, and you’d like your favorite quote illustrated for a presentation, poster, or other inspirational memorable purpose, please contact me at lemasney@gmail.com.
This sketch reminds me of the story of the space pen, in which it’s suggested that the US was wasteful in spending a million dollars to develop a space pen, while Russians simply used pencils. A great story, but false on many counts:
“The lesson of the infamous “space pen” anecdote about NASA’s spending a small fortune to develop a ballpoint pen that astronauts could use in outer space, while completely overlooking the simple and elegant solution adopted by the Soviet space program (give cosmonauts pencils instead), is a valid one: sometimes we expend a great deal of time, effort, and money to create a “high-tech” solution to a problem, when a perfectly good, cheap, and simple answer is right before our eyes. As good a story and moral as that may be, however, this anecdote doesn’t offer a real-life example of that syndrome. Both U.S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts initially used pencils on space flights, but those writing instruments were not ideal: pencil tips can flake and break off, and having such objects floating around space capsules in near-zero gravity posed a potential harm to astronauts and equipment. (As well, after the fatal Apollo 1 fire in 1967, NASA was anxious to avoid having astronauts carry flammable objects such as pencils onboard with them.)”
This is Jack’s sneaker. I asked him to choose something for me to draw for this project, and after some careful thought, he chose his sneaker. It has the most beautiful lines, and this bright orange color offset by a deep gray. I made the illustration using the open source digital illustration program called Krita.
If you’d like an illustration of your favorite shoe, you can get yours here. Just email me at lemasney@gmail.com.
This is one of my favorite coffee mugs. It holds a full 20 ounces, feels heavy and right in your hand, and is easy to find, even in the dark. There’s something solid about it; it’s reassuring. Sometimes, I even feel just a little more assured of my progress when I use it. Other coffee containers I have pale in comparison. Even when you put it down, there’s a small audible thump, reminding you of its gravitas. It’s solid, clean and sound.
Drawing of a tall coffee mug was made in the open source digital painting application named Krita by John LeMasney. If you’d like an illustration of an object, just email me at lemasney@gmail.com!
I had surgery on my eyes in the last ten years to correct early onset cataracts. I’m 41 at the time of this writing. Along with the surgery to repair my long sight came the need for glasses for my short sight. Even though I only need them in very specific screen viewing situations, every time I put them on, I rejoice a little bit at the gift of clear sight. Having lived without it for about a year, I will never take it for granted again.
I made this illustration using the open source digital painting application Krita. If you’d like an illustration of your own, please contact me at lemasney@gmail.com
