I seriously cannot express how beautiful this work of art is. When it opened on my laptop, I was utterly speechless. Artist Aghnia Mardiyah is only 17 years old perfectly captures a moment that happens near the end of the final book of the trilogy (which means you might not want to read much more about it if you fear spoilers for Shades of Earth--I'm going to talk specifically about just why this art is so wonderful, and that will totally give away the ending of the book).
|By Aghnia Maydiyah, via Tumblr|
As you can see, it's stunningly well made--I've always thought you can tell a good artist by the eyes and nose, and clearly Aghnia has talent! Not only that, but the emotion is so evident. It's not just in the tear leaking from Amy's eyes--you see so little of her face here, but it's obvious that she's witnessing something tragic.
But if you look at the quote Aghnia put with painting, you'll see just why Amy's so distraught:
There is, against the dark sky, a brief flash of light. it is filled with colors, like a nebula or the aurora borealis, bursting like a popped bubble.This is the moment--the exact, precise moment--when Amy sees Elder's ship blow up. Look into the eyes--you can see the explosion mirrored there. And! The oval irises and clear-blue color of eyes that show Amy is becoming a hybrid! Such precision and careful attention!
And then it’s gone.
And then he’s gone.
Of course, I adore the detail here, but again, the thing that really grabs me is the emotion of this painting. Grief and shock and horror are so hard to illustrate well and accurately, and Aghnia nailed it. This is exactly the way I saw Amy in my mind when she witnessed the ship's explosion. She doesn't wail or break down. She just watches it, and the horror of it dawns with the fading of the explosion's aftermath. It's the sort of grief that doesn't pour out from you in extremes; it's the sort of grief that hollows you out inside.
And that is exactly what Aghnia's shown so brilliantly with this painting.
Brava, Aghnia! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for illustrating one of the saddest scenes of my book and sharing it with me (and everyone!). I am so honored.