iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 15h

It’s always good to remember that some tales are better told as a short story than a novel, especially when I have so many other ideas demanding expression. www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/ou...

Figure detail from OUTLOOK featuring a blonde boy of about 10 resting on a ledge of concrete to peer out an open panel to the sky. The opening is framed in rusted metal. We see him lit by the sun from behind as he holds onto the frame with his left hand. On his knees with one leg not quite finding purchase, he searches for balance with his right hand. He wears blue jeans and sneakers with a lighter blue shirt.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 15h

Though I briefly considered executing a larger version, as I sharpened the focus and details began to emerge, I felt I had conveyed the concept effectively at this modest scale. As it often happens, what started as a study for a large scale painting ended up being the finished piece.

Detail from OUTLOOK featuring the panel that had been covering the now open window tumbling past lower segments of the wall. The hatch directly below is reminiscent of a four panel door, barred by four blocks placed even between the left and right edges. The material of the discarded panel is uncertain—perhaps wood but possibly metal or concrete. Shadowed dots at each corner hint at where it was nailed or bolted through to the wall. A wash of rust colors the face in streaks.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 15h

What began as a charcoal sketch on canvas felt incomplete to me, so I added some color notes to bring it closer to the image I could see in my head.

An earlier version of the painting in progress. Touches of color have been added where the concrete is joined by brackets. The shapes of the blocked doors can be seen sketched in against the gray of the concrete. The figure is in place, posed at the open window.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 15h

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. #art

A boy rests on a ledge to peer out an open panel in a huge concrete facade that is divided into recessed rectangles. At the intersection of the concrete support beams, the cross braces rust over. Each rectangle on the wall contains a different shape (circle, hexagon, 8-pointed star) sealed and closing off the view outside. Below the boy, a panel tumbles down as he props his hand on the rusted metal frame. Beyond is blue-gray sky.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

This full color study served as “model” for the new gallery painting GLIDE. The flow of the fabric suggests bedsheets lending a mystical air to the figure soaring over dreamlands. It is also available in our shop while it lasts: www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/figure-...

Figure study for GLIDE, Acrylic on Mounted Canvas - 7” x 16”. Framed original art.
From an overhead POV, a woman in white robes is flying with arms spread wide among doves with verdant terrain below them. The silky fabric ripples as it tapers to a point past her feet.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

This major new personal work from the Passage series is now available to view in our shop: www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/figure-...

GLIDE (2026), Acrylic on Gessobord - 24” x 36”. Original painting in 3 1/2” Gold Flat Panel Gallery Frame With Deco Embossed Finished Corners.

Soaring over a labyrinth of mossy ridges, a woman in white silky robes reaches out towards a transparent orb lit from within by a solitary flame. With her arms out wide, the silky fabric spreads to form a long triangle rippling as it tapers to a point well past her feet. Doves glide around her. From the top down POV, we can see the barest glimpse of water glistening in the recesses of the verdant maze.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

I waited patiently for my muse to provide clarity before it finally struck me—it was the flying/floating sensation that eluded me. Once I hit on that dreamlike quality, I was soaring. www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/gl...

From an overhead POV, a woman in white robes is flying with arms spread wide among doves with verdant terrain below them. The silky fabric ripples as it tapers to a point past her feet.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Initially, I thought it would be fun to illustrate a group of kids jumping over the green landscape. Along with the doves winging westward, they were “Free to Fly” and fit the title I originally had in mind. It wasn’t until I hung the painting in a gallery that I realized it was missing something.

Detail from GLIDE featuring a POV from overhead as a dark-haired woman in white robes soars over a labyrinth of mossy green ridges. She turns her head and breaks flight position with arms spread wide to reach out with her left hand toward a transparent sphere lit from within by a solitary flame.

Figure detail from GLIDE featuring a dark-haired woman in white robes soaring among doves over a verdant green labyrinth. Her arms are spread wide as she turns her head and reaches her left hand toward a transparent orb lit from within by a solitary flame. The silky cloth she’s wearing forms a triangle that ripples as it tapers to a point, fluttering just beyond her feet. Her long black, held in place jeweled tiara, flows behind her.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

GLIDE (2026) Acrylic - 24” x 36” Few paintings come easy…and that was almost the case here. I saw the environment in a dream but awoke before getting a complete visualization. The art went through a number of essential transformations before settling into a form that felt right to me. #art

Soaring over a labyrinth of mossy ridges, a woman in white silky robes reaches out towards a transparent orb lit from within by a solitary flame. With her arms out wide, the silky fabric spreads to form a long triangle rippling as it tapers to a point well past her feet. Doves glide around her. From the top down POV, we can see the barest glimpse of water glistening in the recesses of the verdant maze.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

For Whelan Wednesday tomorrow (10/14), we reveal a major new gallery painting from the Passage series. This original work and color figure study for it will be available in our shop at 10am ET. A preview is now available to our paid supporters: theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/passage-or...

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Using the sepia photoprint as my "underpainting," I finished the painting in my regular acrylic paints. It was an enjoyable excursion into strange territory for me. Cover illustration for ARISE by Sepultura (Roadrunner Records) www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/ar...

Album cover for ARISE by Sepultura, distributed by Roadrunner Records

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

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.

Black and white preliminary concept for ARISE featuring a hand reaching out of a formation of stone chimney stacks. Flames rise from the tip of each finger. Starting at the palm, skin peels away to reveal the blood vessels underneath. A variety of grotesque mouth shapes form at the top of the thin chimney stacks with the occasional tongue teasing out.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

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

A pair of spiky lobster-like claws pull a strand through a human brain. Suspended above, the abstract shape of a body hangs upside down, wavy and transparent. Inside appears to be human faces screaming in horror intermixed with internal organs (intestines and spine). The structure the claws protrude from is an amalgam of body parts, human and otherwise, including a pair of mismatched blue eyes, a deformed mouth full of uneven teeth. A path atop a winding stone wall leads up to the grotesque monument from the green, grass-like-yet-alien vegetation in the foreground. Behind the structure murky water gently ripples.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Editor's note: David really didn't need any art direction, it was all a ploy so they could get together and do "naughty" Fuzzy drawings. Cover illustration for THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE FUZZY by H. Beam Piper (Platt & Munk) www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/ad...

THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE FUZZY by H. Beam Piper published by Platt & Munk

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

David is a wonderful fantasy artist best know for his graphic novel retelling of THE HOBBIT. I acted as "art director" to be sure that David would portray the Fuzzies with the same look and the book turned out great!

Background detail from THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE FUZZY featuring a view through curving tree trunks framing a man in denim overalls with patches on the knees. Underneath, he’s wearing a red shirt. He’s staring up at a glowing sunstone that he holds aloft. In his other hand he holds a pick.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Not having time to do the whole book, I did this for the cover and PEEKABOO FUZZIES for the endpapers and arranged for my friend David Wenzel to do the interior works.

Figure detail from THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE FUZZY featuring a furry humanoid with huge green cat-like eyes. Fur sweeps over its eyes and cheeks, curling downward. Its expression is apprehensive as it stares toward the viewer with one arm resting on a tree trunk as if frozen in action. Behind it more Fuzzies are hidden in the forest cover with the foremost staring at a winged lizard perched on a boulder.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE FUZZY (1983)  Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 22" x 30"   This was a fun assignment. I was asked to do a large-size children's book version of LITTLE FUZZY by H. Beam Piper. #bookssky #art 🪐📚

In a lush green forest, a furry humanoid with huge green eyes with cat-like pupils, leans an arm on a thick tree. Huddled near a boulder at its feet, more of the creatures peer nervously as they make their way through the dense woods. The forest floor is alive with flowering growth. In the background on the other side of the tree, a man holds up a glowing sunstone.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

In this week’s newsletter, we go behind the scenes with Michael for the making of his cover for Ray Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451. theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/pleasure-t...

ABLAZE (2020), Acrylic, 9" x 18", Preliminary concept for Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 featuring a view through a burning bookcase. A fireman in traditional jacket and mask stand on the other side of the gap in the fiery stacks.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The smears of color later caught my eye and motivated me to fish the board out. Intrigued by the possibilities, I saved it to make into this little painting. www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/20...

Detail of ELRIC AT THE FORGE OF FOREVER featuring Elric standing on an outcrop of rock wearing a black hooded cloak trimmed in gold. Lava spills down the slope behind him into the water.

Figure detail from ELRIC AT THE FORGE OF FOREVER featuring Elric cradling Stormbringer, with one hand supporting the pommel and with the other resting on a blade that glows with purple energy. He wears ornate jeweled bracers, but most of him is concealed by a hooded black cloak.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

ELRIC AT THE FORGE OF FOREVER (2019) Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 14 ½” x 6 ½” When I tossed out the old container of paints used to do the cover painting for WORDS OF RADIANCE, it landed upside down in my wastebasket on a piece of paperboard I had been using as a palette for something else.

Elric stands on an outcrop of rock with skulls at his feet. He wears a black hooded cloak trimmed in gold and jeweled bracers. He cradles Stormbringer as the length of the runesword, glowing purple, extends well above his head. Below him water spills frothy onto the shore but as it stretches back, placid and glassy, it gives way to erupting vents of lava.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Foundation prints are 30% off in our shop until Sunday (10/11) at midnight. Discount applied to cart automatically. No coupon necessary. www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/foundat...

Set of Isaac Asimov prints including HARI, THE MULE, ARKADY, TRANTORIAN DREAM, GISKARD, and FOUNDATION AND EARTH

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Cover illustration for SECOND FOUNDATION by Isaac Asimov (Del Rey) www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/ar...

Paperback book cover for SECOND FOUNDATION by Isaac Asimov, published by Del Rey

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Natural forces have regained dominance. The beautiful blue sky has a few clouds signifying the renewed freedom of weather no longer controlled by the city planet and native life forms are attacking the metal. What looks like a simple portrait has many layers of meaning.

Pencil sketch for ARKADY featuring her with legs caught in an inverted v and her head turning toward the audience.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

The young heroine Arkady stands on the edge of a high metallic ruin and the last remnants of the long lost Empire rise to form the shape of an archway leading through the lessons of the past to a new bright future.

Color study for ARKADY featuring a rough rendering of the central figure framed by twisted towers collapsing into each other. The sky is notably a yellow-orange gradient blending with green.

Detail from ARKADY featuring a young woman with red hair standing on a metal platform set against a pastoral backdrop and blue skies. One foot is forward to form an inverted V with her legs, echoing the form of the ruined towers behind her.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

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. #bookssky #art 🪐📚

With a leather bag over her shoulder, a young woman with red hair stands on a metal platform set against a pastoral backdrop and blue skies. She wears an olive green jacket and striped shorts with yellow tights. Caught mid-step, she turns her head toward the audience. The angle of her legs are a mirror of the twisted metal of decaying towers that collapse into each other.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Simply put, if nature falls we all fall down with it.   My obvious concern for future generations is highlighted by the mother and child. www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/en...

Detail from THE END OF NATURE II featuring a mother carrying a child across a treetop canopy supported by slender branches. Beneath the far edge, small branches are falling off, eroding the support. The sun, shining from off panel left, bathes the figures in golden light. Barely visible from the POV from under the canopy, another child is seated behind the woman.

Close detail from THE END OF NATURE II featuring a mother in long draping dress holding a child on her hip. She stares off to the left bathed in the light of the sun off panel. Contrails cross in the sky behind her. Below a flock of raves weaves between the slender branches supporting the canopy. One still perched gives out a caw as it lurches to take off.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

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. #art

Slender branching limbs support a rolling canopy of leaves. Atop it stands a mother holding a child in her arms as she stares into the distance. Another girl sits just behind her, partially obscured. The light of sunset casts highlights on the leading edge of canopy and the small family. Beneath the canopy a flock of ravens circle about bare limbs which branch like blood vessels. Contrails criss-cross a sky painted lavender, peach, and pink.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

CELEBRATING SCIENCE FICTION CLASSICS - 30% off Asimov & Bradbury Covers Discount applied automatically. No coupon code necessary. Promotion ends at midnight on Sunday 10/11. www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/reprodu...

Two Ray Bradbury cover prints overlapping, DESCENT (cover for THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES) and FAHRENHEIT 451.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

This small original painting is available in our shop while it lasts. www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/key-que...

THE KEY QUESTION (2026), Original painting framed in wood moulding.

A bronze key hovers against a blue tinted tapestry of stars. Inscribed on the circular head of the key is Einstein’s famous formula E = mc². At several points the metal gleams with a lens flare echoing the same brilliant pattern among the stars.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The limitations on velocity and the energy required to travel the stars means mankind is likely restricted to Earth's immediate environs. Nevertheless, I'll hold to the possibilities of that famous equation...and keep watching the stars with a hopeful eye. www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/ke...

Rendered in a limited palette, a friendly Albert Einstein with bushy mustache, wild hair, and wrinkles around his eyes turns toward the audience. He wears a sepia toned jacket and dark tie knotted at a loose collar. The sky is simply rendered in transition from plain background with stars glowing as different sized dots. A spiral galaxy spins in the upper left, dotted with a myriad of lights.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

In that moment, the final image formed in my mind. Unfortunately though, for manned interstellar expeditions, the equation could be portrayed as much by a lock as a key.

Detail from THE KEY QUESTION featuring the mathematical formula E=mc² etched into a raised elongated oval on the head of a brass key.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

THE KEY QUESTION (2026) Acrylic - 6" x 6" I recently listened to a talk about space travel and the implications of Einstein's equation. The topic was fresh in my mind when I stumbled on a simple gold key on black background, originally painted years ago for a potential website redesign. #SciArt

A bronze key hovers against a blue tinted tapestry of stars. Inscribed on the circular head of the key is Einstein’s famous formula E = mc². At several points the metal gleams with a lens flare echoing the same brilliant pattern among the stars.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

...and the unwilling and uncaring attitudes of many people in the upper echelons of our society. Cover illustration for THE YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES: SERIES XIII edited by Karl Edward Wagner. www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/tw...

Paperback book cover for THE YEAR’S BEST HORROR STORIES: SERIES XIII edited by Karl Edward Wagner, published by DAW Books

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The title alludes to the separation between our comfortable lives in the West and the awful conditions in part of the Third World. It is about feeling powerless to effect any real change, an inability to get serious help to those who need it...

Figure detail from TWO WORLDS featuring a naked man with scraggly white hair and long beard piping a tune on a human femur. He holds the bone delicately to his lips with pointed fingers ending in unnatural, wavy nails. Likewise, his toenails end in cruel barbs as one leg dangles down in casual comfort. Small charms hang off a cord set about his waist. An open, upended pouch spills coins down on a blindfolded owl flying past.

Close detail from TWO WORLDS featuring coins spilling down on a blindfolded owl. Unseeing, the owl clutches a rock in one talon as its wings spread in flight.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

...and it stayed in my mind awaiting expression. Over weeks, a theme for a painting developed while I worked on other projects. When the opportunity came for me to execute a cover for a horror anthology, I was able to do the painting I wanted to do and still have it be right for the publication.

Figure study in pencil of a man with bat-like ears piping a tune on a human femur. He sits with one knee up and the other dangling.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

TWO WORLDS (1985)  Oil on canvas - 36” x 22”   During one of the Ethiopian famines, I came across a magazine photo of a desert filled with a multitude of crude burial mounds extending off to the horizon. I was struck by the implications of the image... #art #booksky 🪐📚

Seated upon a flat rock with one knee up, a naked man with scraggly white hair and long beard pipes a tune on a human femur. Flesh colored, his ears are bat-like, long and furry, protruding up from the side of his head. An open, upended pouch spills coins down on a blindfolded owl flying past. Unseeing, the owl clutches a rock in one talon. The piper’s perch rests upon a clump of earth floating among smoky clouds, a misty curtain tinted pink and purple like a bruise. Gnarly roots reach out in all directions, probing like woody tentacles. A break in the clouds reveals an arid stretch of land. The flat barren field is dashed with low lines of rock—burial mounds as far as the eye can see. A single figure with shovel pauses in their work with head bowed.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Cover illustration for DELIRIUM'S MISTRESS, book four of Tales from the Flat Earth, by Tanith Lee (DAW) www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/de...

Paperback book cover for DELIRIUM'S MISTRESS by Tanith Lee, published by DAW Books. Cover text reads: “From the World Fantasy Award Winner” and “Tales from the Flat Earth: Book Four”.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Something of the same sense of connection can be found also in works by H. P. Lovecraft and David Lindsay, among others.

Detail of DELIRIUM’S MISTRESS featuring a raven haired young woman riding on the back of a winged white lion with powder blue mane. Her patterned cloak, black trimmed with red, billows as it catches the wind. The background sky is traced with upward drifting wisps of clouds.

Close detail of DELIRIUM’S MISTRESS featuring the young woman leaning forward to grip the powder blue mane of the lion. It’s white feathery wings are spread wide as is scans the ground below. The rider’s eyes are focused in the distance as her black cloak trimmed with red billows. The cloak is speckled with golden orbs. A rounded jewel sits upon her chest where the fabric of her top crosses to cup her breasts. Her arms and midriff are bare, and her skirts ride low on her hip with an opening at the side. The fabric is patterned with pale red dots mixed with larger starbursts.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Tanith must have tapped into some well of Jungian subconscious symbolism in her writing. Her stories carry an intriguing weight of significance even though they are "only" fantasies.

Alternative color concept for DELIRIUM’S MISTRESS. Acrylic on Illustration Board - 9” x 6”. A raven haired young woman, mounted on the back of a white lion, raises her hand as her red cloak billows behind. The lion perches atop a pillar with its white feathery wings spread.

Lion creature sketches. Graphite pencil on paper - 11” x 8 ½”. One figure shows it perched on hind legs ready to leap upward. The other shows it with wings wide and four paws approaching a delicate landing.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

DELIRIUM’S MISTRESS (1985) Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 30” x 22” Tanith Lee was such a visual writer of fantasy. She gave the artist an inspiring painting concept on nearly every page, offering an inexhaustible supply of fascinating ideas. #bookssky #art 🪐📚

Over the broken ruins of a fantastical city, a raven haired young woman takes flight on the back of a white lion. With golden eyes and azure mane, it spreads majestic raptor-like wings to soar. As she scans the distance, her eyes signal concern. Wind whips her hair back and billows her cloak. The silky fabric evokes magic in its pattern, black trimmed in red with a regal gold-dotted motif. Wispy tendrils of clouds trace powder blue skies, suggesting an upward drift of air current.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

In this week’s newsletter, we go behind the scenes for the making of the cover of Brandon Sanderson’s OATHBRINGER—a massive feature with 25 preliminary concepts, sketches and studies leading up to the final painting! theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/knight-rad...

A dark haired, tan skinned woman hovers in the air in front of a wall made of uneven stone. White steps materialize beneath her feet in a tight spiral arch. Her left hand reaches out for a Shardblade. The pearlescent sword is longer than she is tall. It has an asymmetrical guard with one quillon curving up and the other down. Midway down the slender blade, the sword ripples as it is taking shape. Projecting from her right hand is a line of golden metal flowing like liquid to fill a massive breach in the wall. Through the gap beyond, a Thunderclast—a giant made of stone—can be seen in the distance. The figure is so large it's head and shoulders extend out of frame.

DEFENDING THAYLEN CITY, wide preliminary concept for OATHBRINGER featuring Jasnah floating with arms out in Y backed by a still standing segment of wall. A gleaming shardblade with cutlass style blade and basket hilt levitates above her. Through the U-shaped gap in the wall a powerful thunderclast with wolf-like head twists its body, one heavy-fisted hand swinging forward.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

This cover was originally commissioned by DAW for a collection of previously published Witch World short stories. More recently it became the album cover for DREAM QUEST ENDS by epic doom metal band Smoulder. www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/lo...

Paperback book cover for LORE OF THE WITCH WORLD by Andre Norton, published by DAW Books

Album cover for DREAM QUEST ENDS by Smoulder featuring LORE OF THE WITCH WORLD. A lavender tint has been applied over the background to punch up the color.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Andre Alice Norton was the first woman to be honored with the Gandalf Award for lifetime achievement in fantasy in 1977, first to be named Grand Master of Science Fiction by SFWA in 1984, and first to be inducted in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 1997.

Background detail from LORE OF THE WITCH WORLD featuring a castle built on a snowy peak. The pristine white walls stand out against blue-gray sky mixed with pink highlights of sunset along the horizon. A central tower rises from a collection of asymmetrical towers of varying width, giving the architecture a unique look above the solid base of the case. Small slits of windows can be seen from a distance with the occasional cross. The entrance is a tall arch but the mountains rise to obscure the view of the approach.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

LORE OF THE WITCH WORLD (1979) Watercolor on Watercolor Board Early in my career I had the privilege of being assigned covers for many established authors. That list, of course, included Andre Norton, one of the grand dames of science fiction. #bookssky #art 🪐📚

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Unshared that Naomi Klein quote. Turns out she said a lot of things close to that but the meme was AI generated and fooled even her at first glance.

I have stumbled across it multiple times, and several people I know and respect have personally thanked me for the message. Trouble is, both my image and my quote are Al-generated, built from patterns of photographs that do exist and from very similar words I've actually said and written elsewhere. In truth, I agree heartily with Al Naomi. But it's still not me, and the fact that even I was fooled at first and searched to make sure I hadn't said those exact words (while sort of wishing I had) makes me feel the opposite of calm. (Also: what the hell is it with me and doppelgangers?)

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Someday I'll paint the boogeyman I imagined when I was young, which I still remember. As funny as it sounds, he was shaped like a big turkey drumstick! Cover illustration for THE YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES: SERIES XIV edited by Karl Edward Wagner (DAW) www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/bo...

Book cover for THE YEAR’S BEST HORROR STORIES: SERIES XIV edited by Karl Edward Wagner, published by DAW Books.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The bedroom is entirely made up, but there are Easter eggs hidden on the bookshelf. The Japanese slug-monster is from my studio. On the shelf underneath are books with titles referencing friends, relatives, and more from 1986.

Close detail from BOOGEYMAN featuring the wicked grin and glowing red eyes of the creature seen behind the closet rod with clothes and hangers pushed aside. Sports equipment, a hockey stick, football, and shoebox lined the shelf above. Farther back a box is decorated with the artist’s sigil, the stylized letters M and W combined within a circle, along with a copyright symbol, and the date “86”.

Background detail from BOOGEYMAN featuring Easter eggs from the bedroom bookcase:

- “ALEXA TELLS ALL”
- ELSIE’S 90 MINUTE WORKOUT [Elsie Wollheim]
- DAW’S GREATEST HITS
- PAT&WALT, PT.1 [Audrey’s parents]
- PETER THE GREAT by BETSY WOLLHEIM [Betsy’s husband]
- THE BOTTLE CAPS: A HISTORY [One of Peter’s many music achievments]
- PAM: A STUDY IN PATIENCE [Pam was our secretary at the time]
- THE REV. DODGE STORY [My alter-ego in the Church of the Subgenius]
- TRIVIAL PURSUIT FOR ALL
- HOW THE IRS STOLE MY XMAS
- APPLIED BOBIONICS by JOHN CRAWFORD. [John was my co-conspirator in the CotS]
- JEAN’S BUNNY BOOK [Jean Vickers is married to John Crawford]
- Near the bottom is a record, a 45RPM single with “AUDREY Records” on the label.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The painting was pure fun. I had always wanted to do a boogeyman, and had submitted the idea years earlier for a previous cover. It wasn't chosen, but I kept the sketch and resubmitted it with other concepts every year after that, until it was finally chosen for this anthology.

Detail from BOOGEYMAN featuring a tall, slender creature emerging from the closet of a child’s bedroom. A low bookcase cuts off at the right edge of the panel. A transformer stands on top with a framed picture of the Loch Ness monster hanging just above. The wall is lit by a nightlight from off-panel below.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

BOOGEYMAN (1986) Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 28” X 17” I love doing covers for anthologies, especially horror. This piece was commissioned for the annual THE YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES from DAW Books. #art #booksky 🪐📚

A tall, slender boogeyman with exaggeratedly long arms quietly slides open the closet door of a child's bedroom. Jostled hangers slide to either side as the creature emerges from behind the cover of clothing. Red dots glow like molten beads set in deep sockets. A double wrinkled ridge defines a wide brow while elfish ears knife out and back, framing a sloped dome that nearly touches the top shelf. The closet rod bars its way forward, crossing just below its round, snub nose. Salivating, its jaw hangs open in a V-shaped smile lined with short sharp teeth.

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Michael Whelan @michaelwhelan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

However, my intention was to design the wave as a simple exponential curve to visualize the problem of human population growth: “...the power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.” www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/wa...

Detail from WAVE featuring exponential climb of the wave as it quickly reaches vertical. Fin-like ridges emerge running up the wall giving the water turbulence and dimension.

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