Skyfire: A mother's tears

 SPOILERS AHEAD, READ DESCRIPTION AT OWN RISK! 








Skyfire was once a mother. Her first and only child was her son, an F-106 like her. He loved music every bit as much as he loved flying with his mother, although he had a tendency of getting into mischief. He was Skyfire's entire world, her one source of joy and happiness. She loved him with every rivet of her being, and he loved her the same.

Skyfire's son didn't die a natural, painless death at the end of a long life. He was killed by another plane, shot down before her very eyes and she was powerless to stop it. Although her son soldiered on for a while after being hit, his damaged engine failed and he plummeted to the ground. He was only 11 years old. His death tore Skyfire apart. Having lost her only child, she fell into a deep depression and was completely inconsolable. Eventually, she believed death was the only way to escape her pain. Fortunately for her, another plane who deeply loved and cared about her brought her back from the brink and helped her be happy in life again. 

Even 40 years after her son's death, the grief and sorrow within her remains fresh. The mere mention of his name or thought of his face is enough to send tears cascading from her jade green eyes. She blames herself for her son's death, although it wasn't her fault at all. Skyfire has long since let her son go, but the grief associated with him refuses to leave. All she has left are memories, and she often muses and laughs about better times. She misses him every minute of the day, but she cherishes the time he was in her life.


Text: "It's all my fault. It's all because of me. Where was I when you needed me the most? Now you're gone. I'm so sorry. I failed you. What kind of mother am I? You left me too soon. I miss you. I want you back."



This piece is a completely different direction compared to other works I've made before. I've created stories that evoked a strong emotional response, but I think this one is a first on many levels. I've never drawn a character in such detail before or included text in a drawing to indicate thoughts or spoken words. I really like the way the 'Skyfire' nose art came out, but I slaved over getting the eyes of the characters just right; the eyes and mouths were the biggest challenges, everything else by comparison was relatively easy. Everything was done in either colored pencil or number 2 pencil, no pens or markers.