This image is a request I’ve done for a site during the summer of 2002. The original is a 20”x30”painting on illustration board. I used a range of mixed medias for this piece, including gouache, watercolour, pens, and pencil crayons. The characters portrayed here are Trowa Barton and Middii Une from Gundam Wing, Episode Zero manga. If you haven’t read the manga, I know a site that has the entire thing online (http://spysilencer.chibiwing.net/episodezero.html). My explanation would probably make more sense if you know the story behind it. If you already read the manga and still don’t get it, that’s ok too. There are a few hidden symbols within the painting. First a few obvious ones: this painting is not an exact representation of the scene where Middi revealed her betrayal in the manga, but a re-enactment of the moment as a portrait. Trowa’s cape is reminiscent of his costume in Episode Zero, and the cross Middi’s holding is the cross she gives to Trowa in the manga, which is really a transmitter. I hope the viewers of my art can detect a sense of guilt in her eyes. She told Trowa that she longs to be like him, cold and unfeeling, because she is filled with feelings that comes between her family, her job, and her guilt. She knows by becoming a spy, many people will be killed because of her, but at least her family will survive. The lilies symbolize purity and innocence; it also represents the Virgin Mary. I want this to be associated with both Middi and Trowa, because they are innocent children living in times of war. There’s no room for compassion in a chaotic world. People can only follow the concept of “kill or be killed”. Trowa and Middi must have affected each other in a way. The memory of their meeting will echo a lifetime. Trowa’s cape covers his mouth, so I thought it sort of goes with his nickname “The Silencer,” but I think I might be pushing it too far, ha ha.