R2KT

This piece was originally simply a donation piece for the Marla Bea Benefit auction. I decided to do this one and the Black Cat piece as well. And while I am proud of both, I simply love and adore the Star Wars piece the best.
You see it started as me trying to draw something unique for the auction. The requirement was that we draw a strong female type from pop culture and feature the color pink. I thought about it for a long while and realized it would be cool to make a pink Artoo unit. So that was the plan.
Then this past weekend I was at Mini Megacon checking out the exhibitors. I came across the Florida Garrison of the 501st Legion. These guys are a class act all over the world. If I had a Stormtrooper outfit I would totally join. Maybe I'll start building one at the Star Wars Fan Days 3 show in October.
Anyway, I noticed a pink Artoo action figure at their booth, and struck up a conversation with one of the guys there. I apologize in advance for being too sloppy to get a name. I wanted to know if it was indeed a female droid? Low and behold there was, and she had a name, R2KT.
He went on to share the story in brief about young Katie Johnson. She was a beautiful little girl with an affection for R2, and a losing battle with Brain Cancer. Now if I have this a little off, I am sorry for my poor detailing. Apparently, her father was in the midst of building Katie her very own pink astromech droid when she took a turn for the worse. Some of the professional R2 robot builders then stepped in and created a real life pink R2 unit, and called it R2KT. Sadly, Katie lost her fight with cancer and passed away sometime after. So now R2KT has become a staple in the Star Wars world. She is an ambassador of sorts, making appearances at Hospitals, and functions, and continuing to bring more awareness to cancer. The droid was even featured briefly in the Clone Wars movie.
After hearing Katie's story I knew I had made the right choice to draw this piece.
This drawing became more emotional for me as well because of the fact that my little girls had just left me, to go back to Texas. But I guess I should thank my stars, that I can still call them or see them.
So my heart and thoughts go out to Katie Johnson's daddy, and it is very hard to now part with this piece. But the positive side is that it will help to bring us in someway closer to saving future Katie's.
You can read more about the MarlaBea Benefit auction by visiting the following link
MARLA BEA BENEFIT AUCTION