← Feed

Posts

• View post

  2010: ODYSSEY TWO (1982) Acrylic on Illustration Board - 30" x 20" 

When legendary publisher Judy-Lynn del Rey asked me to do the cover to the sequel to 2001 by Arthur C. Clarke she said, "What we're looking for here is a 'big book look.'" 1/3 #sciencefiction #illustration #arthurcclarke #delreybooks

• View post

  CHASM (2000) Acrylic on Panel - 30" x 20" I keep a sketchpad next to the bed for recording ideas which arrive as I am falling asleep or waking up... prime time for my "muse channel." 1/2 #fineart #personalvisions #imaginativerealism #fadedstar

• View post

  BEYOND THE VEIL (2023) Acrylic on Canvas - 6 ¼” x 6 ¼” This began as an abstract color experiment. I had no particular subject in mind until I recalled a drawing in my sketchbook. Staring at a darkly swathed figure earlier that day, I felt that she’d been waiting for a painting to float into. 1/2 #leftoversandpalettegremlins

• View post

  THANATOS (1983) Acrylic - 24" x 36" Just before beginning this painting I broke my right hand—my painting hand!—and found myself forced to function with my fingers, wrist, and arm immobilized in a cast. Determined not to let the injury stop me, I employed tricks to circumvent my infirmity. 1/5 #fantasy #illustration #piersanthony #incarnationsofimmortality #delreybooks

• View post

  A WORLD OF LIGHT AND SHADOW (2011) Acrylic on Gessoboard - 20” x 40” I’m as surprised as the next person when some of these ideas come to me and tell me that they need to be painted, especially the ones that come in my dreams. I don’t know where they come from, but they feel important. 1/3 #fineart #personalvisions #imaginativerealism

• View post

  ORBIS SCIENTIARUM (1997) Acrylic on Panel - 24” x 36” It is frequently assumed that if we try hard enough, there are no limits to our understanding of the universe. 1/4 #fineart #personalvisions #imaginativerealism #fadedstar

• View post

  We’ll be adding two original works of horror to our shop for a special Halloween newsletter tomorrow (10/31). A preview is now available for our paid subscribers. https://theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/horror-original-art-preview

• View post

  HECATE’S CAULDRON (1981) Acrylic on Illustration Board - 27” x 15” What is the goddess of all witches tossing into her brew on a cover for this horror anthology? 1/3 #horror #illustration #anthology #dawbooks

• View post

  THE WITCHING TREE (2019) Acrylic on Illustration Board - 6” x 6” An accidental shape on a scrap of illustration board evoked a sort of Lovecraftian tree. 1/2 #leftoversandpalettegremlins #horror #illustration

• View post

  OUTLOOK (2025) 
Acrylic on Canvas - 12” x 9” 

All of my Lumen paintings feature a figure struggling to reach the light, against seemingly overwhelming travails. In OUTLOOK we see the moment of breakthrough and discovery, a daunting obstacle overcome. 1/3 #fineart #personalvisions #imaginativerealism #lumen

• View post

  COLD AND ALONE (2025)
 Acrylic on Illustration Board - 13” x 10” 

"Mordred was as cold as they were, every bit, and he had no one."
 
In "The White Lands of Empathica" from The Dark Tower, scenes alternate between Roland’s katet and Mordred following their trail. 1/2 #horror #illustration #stephenking #darktower

• View post

  This week we revealed a major new painting GLIDE. In today’s newsletter Michael takes us behind the scenes of how the painting took flight. https://theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/passage-to-dreams

• View post

  PENDULUM (1999) Acrylic on Panel - 11" x 9" At times, the light of knowledge seems to illuminate only the negative side of our existence and becomes a burden to the spirit. 1/2 #fineart #personalvisions #imaginativerealism #fadedstar

• View post

  CACOPHONY (1992) Mixed Media - 24" x 24" I had a good relationship with Sepulture after their Beneath the Remains and Arise releases. When they sent a sample of “Refuse/Resist”—which I loved—I was eager to be part of the project for Chaos A.D. 1/5 #horror #illustration #sepultura #roadrunnerrecords

• View post

  CROWN OF SHADOWS (1995)
 Acrylic on Panel - 28" x 22" There's something in the complexity of an anti-hero that grabs the attention of readers. Such rich characters naturally provide an illustrator with opportunity to revel in the shadows. 1/4 #fantasy #illustration #csfriedman #coldfiretrilogy #geraldtarrant #dawbooks

• View post

  ARISE (1990) Mixed media - 20” x 20” I took the opportunity with this commission—an album cover for Sepultura—to experiment and have fun. 

After completing a small stack of tone renderings of textures and distorted faces, I photocopied them, cut them out, and recombined them. I then had the assemblage photographed, and a sepia-toned print was made of it in the appropriate dimensions. 1/3 #horror #illustration #sepultura #roadrunnerrecords

• View post

  ARKADY (1985) Acrylic on Canvas - 32” x 20” Having passed through terrible destruction, the former hub of the Galaxy in Isaac Asimov's classic opus is now a pastoral world. 1/5 #sciencefiction #illustration #isaacasimov #foundation #delreybooks

• View post

  THE END OF NATURE II (1998) Acrylic on Canvas - 30” X 48” The second in a series of paintings about our relationship with nature. All the figures are supported by nature, but the support is eroding and in danger of giving way completely if we don't pay attention and nurture it. Simply put, if nature falls we all fall down with it. 1/2 #fineart #personalvisions #imaginativerealism

• View post

  WAVE (1994) Acrylic on Canvas - 48” x 48” Of all the paintings hanging in my home, this one probably elicits the most comments. It's also a good example of why I am reluctant to say too much about my work. Some people are frightened by it, some view it as peaceful and some are just struck by its abstract qualities. 1/2 #fineart #personalvisions #imaginativerealism

• View post

  THE DIVINING HEART (2005)
 Acrylic on Canvas - 36" x 24"

 "Stepping stones" of ammonite fossils represent the lessons of history and are the only havens of safety for the figure in the foreground. If her journey toward the future is guided by the foundations of the past, she can reach the horizon. https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/divining-heart/ #personalvisions #fineart #imaginativerealism

• View post

  KING OF THE DEAD (1977) Gouache on illustration board - 24” x 14” I had the good fortune of working on Elric early in my career. The books written by Michael Moorcock have proven to be enduring classics in fantasy. 1/4 #fantasy #illustration #michaelmoorcock #elric #dawbooks

• View post

  PASSING BY (2025) Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 12” x 16” During my college years in the late 60s, I was fortunate to see Santana in concert—and they were great! 1/5 #leftoversandpalettegremlins #personalvisions

• View post

  THE RIVER (1996) Oil on Canvas - 48” x 36” In my personal work, the red glass heart evokes the world of the senses and things that appeal to those senses. That’s material possessions for some or pleasure seeking and gratification for others. 1/3 #personalvisions #imaginativerealism #meditation

• View post

  DRAGONFLIGHT (1978)
 Acrylic on Masonite - 20" X 30" 

For the first book in Anne McCaffrey's now legendary Dragonriders of Pern series, I wanted to create a literal visualization of the title. I selected an aerial point-of-view and tilted the horizon to simulate the dizzying sensation of flight. 1/4 #sciencefiction #illustration #annemccaffrey #pern #dragon #delreybooks

• View post

  THE UNINVITED (1974) Oil on Illustration Board - 10” x 15” When I first moved to the East Coast in search of illustration jobs, I had to prepare a portfolio with a selection of the variety of work I was able to do. This was the “horror” piece that I took around to the art directors.

 Painted with oils left over from another portfolio piece back in ‘74. https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/uninvited/ #horror #illustration #leftoversandpalettegremlins

• View post

  WINGING IT (2008)
 Acrylic - 36" x 24" 

American history is full of examples of artists who were illustrators and became recognized fine artists—Edward Hopper and Winslow Homer come to mind—but I didn’t know whether I’d be able to pull off that transition. 1/3 #personalvisions #fineart #imaginativerealism

• View post

  THE MASTER MIND OF MARS (1978)
 Acrylic - 21" x 27" 

The only John Carter cover in which I intentionally deviated from the story. The Master Mind does not appear in the actual scene but Lester del Rey thought the cover should go along with the title, so I took liberty placing the character there. 1/5 #sciencefiction #illustration #edgarriceburroughs #martiantales #barsoom #delreybooks

• View post

  THE LOST CITY (2017)
 Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 14" x 7 ½"

 Members of the Miskatonic Antarctic Expedition discover an ancient city while searching for Gedney, missing from the advance camp and the massacre that took place there. 1/2 #leftoversandpalettegremlins #fantasy #illustration #hplovecraft

• View post

  DRAGON ABOARD (2013) Acrylic - 18” x 24” Anne McCaffrey often reminded readers that her Pern novels were science fiction. This scene from ALL THE WEYRS OF PERN did exactly that and was originally chosen for the cover. 1/3 #sciencefiction #illustration #annemccaffrey #pern #dragon

• View post

  THE DARK TOWER: THE ARTIST'S DOOR (2004) Oil on Panel - 28" x 18" 

Patrick Danville, the magical artist, draws the door into existence. Note the 2 brushes on the doorknob. The marks of the tire treads on the ground are a callback to Susannah’s trike, depicted in another painting THE DARK TOWER: KA-TET. https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/dark-tower-artists-door/ #fantasy #illustration #stephenking #darktower