Description: A skeleton sits back in a black velvet chair, still wearing his gold crown. One leg is crossed over the other, and two thin fingers rest against his jaw. He looks relaxed, a little bored, like a king waiting for someone to bring him news. Everything around him is rich. Red curtains hang from the ceiling, a candle is still burning, and a glass of red wine sits on the table next to him. On the wall behind him there is a painting of red and white roses. But next to the wine there is another skull. Someone sat in this room before him, maybe in this same chair. Outside the window the sky is dark red. The king does not look at it. He just keeps sitting there with his crown on, waiting for a kingdom that ended a long time ago. Why I made this: I wanted to paint what power looks like after time is finished with it. He still has everything. The crown, the chair, the wine, the roses. He even still has the pose, calm and a little proud, like nothing can touch him. But there is nothing left of him. All the things he owned stayed in the room, and he did not. The skull on the table is the part I care about most. He is not the first king to sit there, and he will not be the last. The chair always outlives the person sitting in it. I think everyone holds on to some kind of crown. Money, a title, a name people know. We sit back and feel safe because of it. This painting is a reminder that none of it decides how long we get to stay. So hold your crown loosely. One day someone else will be sitting in your chair, looking at your skull on the table.