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.

As the first painting truly devoted to the Hell project this piece is a touchstone. The visual idiom that I created in this piece, from the colors to the archi-organic forms to the look of the demons, has found its way into nearly every subsequent Hell painting I've done.