The Kamikaze

Completed on the weekend. Pencil on acid-free Strathmore drawing paper, 11" x 14". Thanks for looking!

The Kamikaze WIP

I wanted to complete this on the weekend but I'm getting close. I'm being very careful in building the tones with subtle layers of shading as it would be difficult to remove areas that are too dark but I can always add layers as I go. It's mostly 4B and 6B pencil with a little bit of HB and 2B thrown in.

The Kamikaze Update

An update with the background started. I would like to keep it somewhat uncluttered so that the figure will be prominent. The mountains and coastline will be familiar geographical features to the Philippines, from which the Kamikazes flew their first missions.

The Kamikaze WIP

I've always been a little intrigued by the story of the Kamikaze's plight and the sense of isolation that they must have felt in so futile a cause. Apparently not all of them were in total commitment to the tactics that were asked of them either, and it is hard to imagine what they went through, some of them as young as 17 years of age. Many flew their missions because the social pressures on them were great, and they could not back down. I would like to get across a portrait of stoic resignation in the individual, the pilot alone with his thoughts before his final mission, perhaps thinking of his own loved ones and I will add a landscape in the background as well. I have started a piece in pencil and I hope to eventually complete a version in acrylics. Patience will be required with this one for me but I hope to progress on it steadily.