God's Demon

The Wargate — (from Barlowe’s Inferno — acrylic on ragboard) — A massive procession snakes away from the second largest structure in Hell. Situated on the edge of a great lake of lava on the outskirts of Dis, the Wargate’s only rival in sheer scale is Beelzebub’s Keep itself. Built to commemorate those lost in the War with Heaven it also serves as the headquarters for Dis’ military. While most buildings in Dis are composed entirely of soul-bricks, the Wargate was erected around a natural volcanic plug, its outer surfaces smoothed by slave labor that took eons and countless souls to complete. Once the work-force was finished they were converted into the buildings that now stand at its base.

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Demolishers — (acrylic on Gessoboard) — Part of the vanguard of Dis’ army is its intimidating force of various engineering “vehicles'. Demolishers are among the largest soul-constructs found in Hell, each massive creation composed of hundreds of compressed souls. So heavy that they need supernatural augmentation to move, they are lumbering, building-crushing tanks capable of chewing their way through soul-bricks and natural stone alike. Only the thickest-built archiorganic structures can withstand the Demolishers which is why each is commanded by a powerful Demon Minor wise in the invocations necessary to further weaken them.

Part of a private collection, this commissioned piece seemed, at first, impossible. As there are no vehicles or real machines in my Hell, I was confounded when the buyer asked me to invent a Hell-tank. The only solution that satisfied my world’s internal logic was to riff on the concept behind Agares’ steed as depicted in the INFERNO book. In that painting, the demon is seated upon a mount that is entirely composed of mashed-together souls, their multiple legs providing the locomotion. Once I licked that conceptual problem the painting was fun to execute. As I had just recently finished GOD’S DEMON and there was a scene involving Demolishers, this painting provided me a rare and serendipitous opportunity to envision a kinetic battle scene in Hell.

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Sargatanas before the Behemoths — (from BRUSHFIRE: Illuminations from the Inferno, acrylic on ragboard) — Created primarily as siege weapons, the Behemoths can prove to be potent weapons upon the battlefield as well. Equipped with two massive bone-hammers and a heavy chin-blade these greatly enlarged souls are the once-cruel rulers of Asian empires transformed by the Demon Major Yen Wang to suit his needs. Donated to the Rebellion, they proved to be an invaluable military asset to Sargatanas.

Think Hannibal. In many ways there’s a kind of duality in the story I’m trying to tell. While the historical Hannibal actually does appear in GOD’S DEMON, it’s Sargatanas who utilizes certain principles and elements from his life. Like his elephants which became these Behemoths. I find Hannibal to be fascinating figure from history; he’s on my short list of people I’d take a time machine back to meet.

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Abaddon of the Pit — (Painter IX) — My book GOD’S DEMON is, in theory, the first of three novels addressing Hell. This image is a bit of a teaser, a glimpse of one the second book’s main characters. For a variety of reasons I’d rather not elaborate upon here, I decided to separate this entity visually from all of the other demons in Hell and go with a somewhat more abstract form. Primitive masks and insects floated before my mind’s eye as I created It.

This digital paint-sketch was created after I spent some serious time with the Painter program on PARADISE LOST. It represents another small step towards understanding that brilliant program but is, by no means, more than an exercise.

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Hell’s Firstborn — (from Barlowe’s Inferno, acrylic on panel) — A giant Abyssal stands upon a scalding field outside the walls of Adamantinarx. Sharing the world of Hell, the demons and Abyssals co-exist in an uneasy relationship with both sides preying upon each other. There is, however, an odd mutual respect between them. Hunted for their skins and their usefulness as war-beasts, many Abyssals evoke an attitude of savage respect from the demons, while, for their part, the more intelligent of the Abyssals keep their distance, understanding the innate superiority of the new-comers. This understanding doesn’t inhibit the native creatures one bit if the opportunity arises to waylay a group of demons that might have lost their way in the wild Wastes.

The notion of a pre-existing fauna indigenous to Hell before the demons arrived opens up a whole line of conjecture. What would their evolutionary course be? What new life-forms could we find? While this painting represents a semi-intelligent individual, there must be countless Abyssals that are mere animals. Much as I did with EXPEDITION, I plan to do a series of wildlife paintings focusing on the fauna of Hell. One is underway as I write this.

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Sargatanas Descending — (from Barlowe’s Inferno — acrylic on ragboard) — Like all Demons Major, Sargatanas is a metamorphic being. Because distances between cities in Hell are considerable — determined for the most part by where the most influential demons Fell — the need to travel quickly between them is rare. Nonetheless, demons like Sargatanas are capable of sprouting great fan-like wings that bear some resemblance to their former seraphic or cherubic wings for just such journeys. Nearly all semblance of anthropomorphism is lost in this demonic form. Here potent glyphs stream away from the wings’ trailing edges, glyphs that not only keep the demon aloft but also delineate territories and can carry commands to nearby airborne troops.

Even though he worked roughly two hundred years ago there is yet a transcendent majesty to William Blake’s vivid, mystical painting’s and etchings. His idiosyncratic style is still fresh and captivating and this painting is something of an homage to him. Blake was one of the most interesting artists and poets of his day and I would be remiss in not mentioning that he, too, fell under the spell of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the single greatest influence on my Hell work.