Sanguine Film’s documentary Vern tells the true tale of Vernon Koski, a painter who was posthumously immortalized on canvas following a lifetime as a struggling unknown artist. The story began when up-and-coming conceptual artist Samuel Yates placed a newspaper classified ad asking for someone to “Donate Ashes to Art.” Retired actress Marcia Koski answered, telling Yates of the lifetime Vern had spent in pursuit of artistic success. Yates was captivated, and Mrs. Koski agreed to give him her husband’s cremated remains. Replacing oil or acrylic, the remnants became the medium for an infamous painting that now hangs in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Having never been recognized for his art while alive, Vern has become “his own life’s work.”