Artist proof hand pulled edition hand signed and numbered out of 100 prints -only. Illustrated by Fantasy Artist Ed Beard Jr.
Measures to a finished custom matted size of 23x29, and comes with a certificate of authenticity and storyline as presented below:
In a time long ago and in a land far away, there was a medieval merchant that desired to create a way to re-use the dented and scratched armor left behind from the many Dragon Slayers that came to his kingdom. He contemplated what a waste it was for such once beautiful and "expensive" armor. So one day, he had a brilliant idea of exactly how he could not only solve the problem of the wasted armor, but also make a tremendous profit at the same time.
That evening, the merchant had an epiphany of how he could solve his financial woes and came up with his business name all in that very moment. The new business would be known as, "Medieval Recycling." The concept, he thought, was to have a world competition calling for only the bravest and most skilled Dragon Slayers to compete to win not only a free set of armor of their choice, but also the coveted title of "World's Greatest Dragon Slayer." In order for his new entrepreneurial business to succeed, he would need to contact the local wizard who spoke fluent Draconian tongue to broker an agreement with the local nuisance, and yet feared dragon, who resided just down the ravine in a deep and mysterious cave.
So after a little bit of coaxing, and a few hundred gold to pay, the local wizard convinced the dragon that he would have a steady influx of tasty knights and warlords if he agreed to participate in this business venture. Well fortunately for the merchant and the wizard, the dragon agreed. All that was left was to work out an arrangement with the master dwarven armorers union local 999 and their skilled metal smiths to agree for a share in the profits to recondition the damaged armor from each of the defeated opponents. Thus was born the Medieval Recycling world competition and the first form of recycling business known in the civilized world.
How to view this painting/print
In this print we see a line of rather egotistical and over confident warriors lining up to purchase the chance to defeat the great dragon, kept within the castle battle arena walls. Each warrior will receive a suit of armor of his choice and be lent the key to enter the main door to the battle arena. The door is locked after each contestant enters to prevent any curious warriors from a sneak peek. Once the warrior is defeated, the dragon piles up the remaining armor after he has shucked them out of the metal shells. The next step is the dwarven smiths begin to collect and hoist up the damaged armor to be hammered out and refinished, shaped and polished. After this stage, the newly recycled armor will be carried in carts back to the registration table outside the gate for the next contestant.
