Hell’s First Born – (from Barlowe’s Inferno, acrylic on panel) – A giant Abyssal stands upon a scalding field outside the walls of Adamantinarx. To me the most difficult part of this painting’s concepting was whether or not to add a question mark after the title. This serves both to recharge my batteries and to force me to make more concise statements. After spending months completing very complex, detailed paintings I tend to gravitate towards simpler, more iconic compositions. What else could a being once of Heaven feel than sadness finding itself in such an environment? And what more poignant, precious reminder of its former existence could it possess after its Fall than one of its own charred feathers?Įxecuting Hell paintings can be an exercise in pacing. What Remains – (unpublished – acrylic on Gessoboard) – As much as Hell is a place of unrelenting horror and savagery it is, too, a place of sadness. The Beast has found an architect.” ~ Guillermo Del Toro, director Here every breath burns your insides and light flickers in perpetual agony. Human nightmares rear out of scale in this sulphurous landscape. “Wayne Barlowe’s Inferno is a dangerous book. This is a unique volume by an extraordinary artist.” ~ Clive Barker, author “Wayne Barlowe conjures the Inferno with Boschian particularity. It is a bleak, unforgiving vision.“Wayne Barlowe’s Inferno is an awesome visual work, taking us into a contorted landscape of the damned which Dante himself could never have imagined.” ~ James Cameron, director

Three-dimensional sigils hover over demons, communicating in a forsaken ancient language. The viewer can practically smell the sweat on a poor soul being inspected by demons like a cow being chosen for slaughter. It is a more vast and sprawling vision than Hieronymus Hosch’s. Barlowe’s Hell is portrayed throughout many illustrations in the books. Think less painterly indication and more photorealistic representation. His work portrays his imagination in painstaking detail. Wayne Barlowe’s art spans alien worlds, alien creatures, and the realms of hell. He’s written and illustrated guides exploring life on a distant planet in “ Expedition,” the underworld in “ Brushfire: Illuminations from the Inferno,” and “Barlowe’s Inferno,” and the creatures from the canon of sci-fi and fantasy literature in “ Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials” and “ Barlowe’s Guide to Fantasy“.

He studied at Cooper Union where he started his career painting covers for Sci-fi and fantasy novels. Barlowe has created concept art and creature design for films such as Avatar, Harry Potter, the RIPD, Hellboy, and Pacific Rim. Wayne Barlowe is a world-renowned concept, creature artist, and author.

Wayne barlowe's expedition