"Eric Northman's Most Treasured Possessions"

In the Fall of 2011 I discovered True Blood and The Sookie Stackhouse Novels by Charlaine Harris and fell in love with the story and especially the character relationship between the main character, a human waitress named Sookie Stackhouse and a tall blonde Viking vampire, named Eric Northman.

While reading the novels, I was also taking a Drawing I class and for my final assignment I had to illustrate a scene or collection of images that represented something about myself. I've been a fan of vampire lore since I was a child and I was so intrigued with the Sookie Novels, I decided to illustrate my favorite couple.

Part of the assignment was that the illustration had to be in charcoal or graphite and it had to be B&W. My instructor allowed me to illustrate my assignment on a dark red paper and to use white charcoal. The other part of the assignment was that I had to render at least 1 object from life. So, I chose to illustrate Eric's most "treasured possessions" that he has fought hard for and earned over many years of his life.

Starting at the top and going clockwise:

The Star represents the city of Shreveport located in Northern Louisiana and it is Eric's powerbase in the vampire hierarchy as he is the Sheriff of Area 5, the largest territory in Louisiana. He is considered very powerful among his kind and only owes allegiance to his monarch, the King of Louisiana.

The neon sign "Fangtasia" is the name of the vampire bar that Eric owns in Shreveport and it serves as his Headquarters which he manages with his Progeny, Pam Swynford De Beaufort. Fangtasia also represents a significant portion of his financial success as it is the most popular tourist attaction in Northern Louisiana.

The Timeline starts at his birth in 906 A.D. and goes to 2011 A.D. There are 3 Viking Runes shown on the timeline. The first rune on the left represents "Fate" as in Eric's fateful encounter with his Maker, Appius Livius Ocella, that turned the young Viking into a vampire. The second rune represents "Warrior" for all the years afterward that he fought his way through and survived. The last rune on the right represents "Possessions" for which Eric has struggled and fought for over many years. He is very proud of his possessions and wealth and he will do anything to protect those interests.

The wine glass and the Tru Blood bottle (which is shown incomplete) are his source of substanance when he needs to feed. In the books, Japanese scientists invented the synthetic blood which allowed vampires to come out of their coffins and into mainstream living among mortals. Vampires no longer have to kill humans to survive.

The last image is of Sookie Stackhouse, who is Eric's most coveted possession and the mortal woman who has captured his immortal heart for all time. The depth of love he feels for her is such that he has risked his life time and again to save hers from harm's way. Though he has lived for a thousand years, no other woman has made him as happy nor feel his humanity as much as Sookie has and so he made her his Wife.

Medium: Charcoal and Pastel on Artagain™ paper
Original size: 20x30
Dated: 2011