I take no pleasure in this

Acrylic on canvas board

This was basically a Merlin painting that didn't work in any way, shape or form!

But I'm in the middle of giving away a load of my Merlin artwork at the moment in order to make room for more, so I want to keep a record of it somewhere.

The idea behind it is that Uther discovers that Arthur is in a relationship with Merlin. What offends him most is not that Merlin is a man, it’s that Merlin is a servant. Uther feels that a lesson is called for, and since servants are expendable and crown princes are not, the lesson will be given on Merlin…

It was meant to be straightforward angst/drama. But it totally accidentally edged into the vaguely kinky. (Bare chests and whips will do that every time! )