Aesop’s the Lion and the Fox

A lion that had grown too old and weak to hunt pretended to be sick as a ruse to make the other animals come and pay their respects. When they did so, he ate them one by one. The fox also came to see him but greeted him from outside the cave. When the lion asked the fox why he did not come in the cave to visit, the fox replied, “Because I can only see the tracks going in, but none coming out.”

I have always found the morality tales that involve foxes very interesting.  Foxes have been made to be sly and clever, but also arrogant or foolhardy.  Applying anthropomorphic traits to the fox allows the reader to judge humanity and its less than honorable traits without judging oneself or others too harshly.  The fox has become a common stand in for conniving and deceitful characters, but can also represent a cunning and calculating persona.  He is a reliable character to illustrate because of all the traits that we have come to assume the fox possesses.

Here, the fox is wary of the danger that the lion presents to him.  He knows that it is easier to avoid the danger than it is to get out of its grip.  Sometimes weighing the costs of a decision and evaluating your options is in your best interest.

This painting is entirely done with watercolors.  I used both wet and “drybrush” techniques and applied the use of salt in the creation of starburst patterns in the lichen on the stones.