Culan Falpen moved to Rosemary Hill when he was still a teenager, fleeing an untenable family situation and hoping to find a place to pursue his art. While he never made any big waves in the art world, he did befriend a number of artists and found a place for himself in the community. One day, an artist friend of his wanted to try out body painting, and Falpen volunteered as his subject. When the artist had finished painting him all over, he wandered the neighborhood to show off his friend's handiwork, and thought the experience went well enough he offered to do it again whenever he was needed... and spread the word that the offer was open to other artists as well.

Eventually, this developed into a full-time job. Artists who want to put their body art on display—be that body paint, tattoos, or body modification—know they have a willing subject. While he doesn't get paid much, the street vendors of the Hill know him and give him free food, and some of the artists who have used his services have rewarded him with some beneficial magical effects, thanks to some of which he now doesn't age and has no need for sleep, so he can perform his service around the clock. Falpen advertises his patrons' work by just wandering around letting people see the art on his body; if anyone asks, he will of course tell them who was responsible for a given work. While he still considers Rosemary Hill his home, he doesn't confine his wandering to the neighborhood, and can be seen anywhere in the city.

Culan Falpen is a slim young man with large hands and feet. He has a round face with a short but wide nose and prominent ears. Falpen never wears clothing, the better to leave the maximum area for the artists' work—while he naturally has pale skin and light brown hair, this isn't now readily perceptible as he's always covered head to toe in paint and tattoos, the exact patterns changing frequently as he returns to the Hill to be adorned by a different artist.