Art of Sarah Wiener

Your 90s Childhood Goes Fishing

We’ve all seen the home run “feature” in Miami. We all thought the same thing - “when did the Marlins hire Lisa Frank as their creative director?” Somebody had to take that thought to its logical conclusion. You’re welcome.

art © Sarah Wiener 2012

2 months ago -

2

cover illustration for The Vampire Diaries: Stefan’s Diaries #1: Origins; color progress 2.

TVD © CW, LJ Smith, Julie Plec & Kevin Williamson

likenesses © Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev

art © Sarah Wiener 2012

2 months ago -

3

cover illustration for The Vampire Diaries: Stefan’s Diaries #1: Origins; color progress 1.

TVD © CW, LJ Smith, Julie Plec & Kevin Williamson

likenesses © Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev

art © Sarah Wiener 2012

3 months ago -

1

Patrick -

I know you must be getting hundreds of replies to your post. Most are variations on a theme - about the dangers of nostalgia (inadvertent referential humor, sorry) and never being able to go home again, and about the respect people have for your craft and you as a person, regardless of what band you’re in or not in. In the event that you’ve managed to find this one among all of them, I’m not going to rehash those things, although I agree 1000% with all of it. Instead I’m going to talk about this.

I don’t know if you even remember this contest Buzznet ran back in 2005-6, to draw you for your website. I remember a lot about that year, because it was a complete disaster for me. I had moved thousands of miles away from home to go to college, only to find that I hated the department and the school and the place and the people. I was completely isolated from family or friends and I was utterly miserable. That’s not unique to me, nor is the fact that if my version of Cork Tree had been vinyl and not bits and bytes, I would have worn it out.

I started this drawing on a whim. I wasn’t even studying art then, had abandoned it for a “serious” academic track, and I wasn’t happy. I needed a distraction, but the more I sketched, the more seriously I took it. I felt compelled to do something that demonstrated how much your music was doing for me. I wanted to give something back to you. And when I sat back and sent it off to Buzznet, I was more proud of it than anything I’d ever drawn, and far more than any research paper I’d ever written.

I don’t mean to imply that somehow you were the catalyst for me moving back to California, finishing my degree only to abandon it entirely, and embark on an often difficult but satisfying career as an art student; or that without you, I never would have done any of that. That’s an unfair responsibility to put on someone. (Besides, I say that to this guy all the time and it annoys the shit out of him.)

What I am saying is that you’re a part of that story that I’m really proud of. I thought it might be something you’d like to hear, in light of things. Thank you. And whatever you do next - perform, act, write, paint landscapes - I’ll be here, looking forward to it.

3 months ago

cover illustration for The Vampire Diaries Stefan’s Diaries #1: Origins; sketch/value rough.

Make Some Noise