Dragon encounters the knight 2006

Here is the story of a dragon encountering a knight in watercolor and ink, by Alfred Freddy Krupa. I love the way the dragon’s rendered with these blues and greens, almost like it’s made of cool stone. You can almost feel the scratch of the pen as the artist builds up the form, layer after layer. And the way it's positioned, kind of bulky and awkward, but also menacing, makes it more human, more funny. I can imagine Krupa hunched over this piece, really feeling the energy of this clash between the mythic and the mundane. What was he thinking as he sketched out the tiny knight, so vulnerable against that backdrop of spiky mountains? Maybe he identified with both figures – the underdog and the beast, both stuck in their roles, facing each other across a made-up divide. It reminds us that artists are in an ongoing conversation across time, sparking each other's creativity. Painting lets us express ourselves in a multitude of ways, giving us a chance to explore diverse meanings, and stay open to different ideas.