Artanis Seated on His Throne of Stone — Print & Oil Painting

The throne was cut rather than built. It is a wedge of dark rock with two uneven points rising at the back, no ornament on it anywhere, and its jagged outline is the strongest shape in the picture: the seated figure has been fitted into that silhouette rather than the other way round.

He sits low and heavily, one forearm along the arm of the seat with a large green stone set into the gauntlet, the other hand loose over the far edge, both feet flat on wet stone. There is no tension anywhere in the pose. The head tips very slightly forward under a tall crown of gold horns, and the small blue lights set into the armour are the only parts of him that look awake.

The armour is gold and pewter and has been painted quickly: broad flat strokes for the leg plates, a scribbled highlight at each rivet, blue gems dropped in at the knee, the shoulder and the crown. A dark cloak falls from behind and pools on the seat. Nothing here has been carried to a finish.

The chamber does something odd with light. A pale rose glow comes from behind the throne on the right, cold grey stone closes overhead, and the floor in front is a shallow sheet of standing water striped with white and blue reflections laid down in single strokes.

Blue crystal light leaks up out of the base of the rock, and it is the only thing in the room that looks made rather than found. It hangs in our Starcraft collection, opposite the same warrior walking forward with both psi-blades lit, which is the other half of this character.