Fulgrim, The Phoenician, Primarch of the Emperor's Children, The Flawless Host

“Up then, fair phoenix bride, frustrate the sun;
Thyself from thine affection
Takest warmth enough, and from thine eye
All lesser birds will take their jollity.
Up, up, fair bride, and call
Thy stars from out their several boxes, take
Thy rubies, pearls, and diamonds forth, and make
Thyself a constellation of them all;
And by their blazing signify
That a great princess falls, but doth not die.
Be thou a new star, that to us portends
Ends of much wonder; and be thou those ends.” 

John Donne

This miniature is a commission piece for a client. It is set on Istavan III at a crisis moment for the Primarch. He stands on the precipice of the greatest betrayl in human history and the betrayal of his closest friend. I wanted to represent the Primarch as a haughty aristocratic figure, nimble and refined. He is slighter than the guady creations of the Astrates but he still maintains that indefatigable aura of one of the First sons of the Emperor.

I wanted Fulgrim to stand on a barren outcrop, an outward marker of Fulgrim's inner sickness. Despite the refinement, the trappings of civilisation and the exaltation of human cultural achievements, Fulgrim is ultimately a flawed creation, a being of light but not heat.

I painted portions of the armour (chest guard, and hands groping at his knees and shoulders) in a mother of pearl effect and created a freehand Phoenix on the back of his cloak.

I hope that Callum enjoys his new commander and hopefully we will be seeing a lot more Heresy era Emperor's Children soon!

LilLoser