A Portrait Of The Artist By Lisa Simpson by Sara Hannon

A Portrait Of The Artist By Lisa Simpson
Sara Kate Hannon
Acrylic on canvas
20"H x 20"W x 1.5"D unframed

2025

For decades now I have identified with the character Lisa Simpson. I too was the smart, know-it-all middle child in a family that didn't understand me. But there was one thing that I didn't have in common with Lisa, which was her belief in herself. She's unapologetically a musician and a thinker, while I was riddled with self-doubt and embarrassment. After recently re-watching the episode Lisa the vegetarian (I too became a vegetarian at a young age), I really understood that simple difference between us. I decided to paint a portrait of myself as though I were her. I let myself have unabashed confidence but also tried to imagine what it would be like to view an actual human through a cartoon character's eyes. I thought that she would be pretty stuck on the idea of a yellow skin tone and really grapple with the idea of 3D.

Get to Know the Artist:

Hi!  I’m Sara Kate Hannon, an artist living in Austin, Texas.  I received my BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2002.  

I am interested in the multi-dimensionality of our personalities. We are taught to present ourselves pleasantly, “I’m fine, thank you,” when our inner reality may be very different. We may be calmly going about our day, but with an inner dialog of doom and destruction rearing its head every now and then, or maybe even a voice of unbridled optimism pops up.

It’s with these inner voices that I am conversing with when I create. Voices that are integral to humans but society often eschews acknowledging. It seems that in art we are taught to strive to make a pretty image but I don’t want to make a pretty image. I want to exist, to see who I am.

While my drawing and paintings may seem intense at first glance, I am hoping the viewer will take a few minutes to get lost in the image and create a story only they can tell, but with which most of us can relate.

While my drawing and paintings may seem intense at first glance, I am hoping the viewer will take a few minutes to get lost in the image and create a story only they can tell, but with which most of us can relate.