The Riddle

"The Riddle"

acrylic on birch panel

11 x 14 inches plus frame

2011

inquiries: corylou311(at)yahoo(dot)com

Here's the synopsis for the piece:

In this tale, the flesh of a poisoned horse is consumed by a raven, which is then killed and made into soup by a prince and his servant.  The soup is then consumed by a band of knife-wielding robbers, thus leading to the riddle: “What slew none, and yet slew twelve?”

In my version, the raven stands victorious over the skulls of the horse, the robbers, and their knives.  Unharmed, it will go on to spread the poison even farther.  The red rose symbolizes victory.

I wanted to try a few new things on this piece, for example the pink roses with their multi-colored petals, and the red and purple lights on the skulls.  I had an idea that I wanted them to look like they were being illuminated by stage lights, kind of a "Brutal Legend" type thing.  Damn, that would have been a good name for the show!