Kathryn Rathke’s portrait of Kurt Vonnegut for Seattle alt weekly paper The Stranger came about somewhat… strangely.

The “Regrets” issue at the end of every year, in which The Stranger lists all of the errors, regrets, etc., of the paper’s staff and contributors solicited regrets from area artists and writers. “I wrote in that although I have drawn many authors, I regretted that I had not yet had the opportunity to draw Kurt Vonnegut,” explains Kathryn. The paper responded by asking if she would like to draw him as the feature illustration for that segment of the paper, thereby allowing at least one citizen the opportunity to conquer one of her regrets!