THE GUNSLINGER: THE SLOW MUTANTS (1981) Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 20” x 15” I took up the challenge of illustrating this scene illuminated solely by the flash of a gunshot. In so many ways, it was the shot that set the stage for Roland’s epic journey to the Dark Tower. 1/4

Yes, those crows are meant to represent the spirits of Phobos and Deimos. 1/2

In today’s newsletter, we return for a tour of the Roman pantheon with the second feature on Our Universe, the wildly popular astronomy book by National Geographic. theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/national-g...

King Leopold II was more subtle.

MARS (1980) Acrylic on illustration board - 4” x 5” Roman gods accompanied each planetary chapter of National Geographic’s Atlas of Our Universe, with this alternative preliminary concept for Mars depicting the god of war in action. www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/ma...

I feel like I haven’t even been properly lied to about the purposes of this war

There were a great many prelims for that painting commission because I had so many ideas of ways I could go with it. In addition to his staggering intellect, I had a great fondness for Asimov’s sense of humor, so some of the prelims touched on humorous themes I felt he would have appreciated. 1/6

Known as the "mournful tree," cypress trees were linked to grief and loss. I used them as a symbol of the sense of loss I felt with the passing of such a knowledgable and wise person in our genre. The similarity to rocket shapes was an unconscious one, I believe. Thanks for pointing it out! 1/3

MONUMENT (1992)
 Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 32" x 20" 

After Isaac Asimov passed away in 1992, I was asked to provide cover art for a posthumous tribute in "Asimov's Science Fiction" magazine. 1/4

This does seem just a little bit bad! Idk the sort of thing you’d think politicians might distance themselves from or something!

Kalak for Brandon Sanderson’s Rythm of War - The Stormlight Archive - Dragonsteel Entertainment #TheStormlightArchive #BrandonSanderson

Sitting a stewing in frustration isn't nearly as cathartic as just designing a poster. Let's see how often I remember that in 2026.

The tl;dr for writers is — we are human, we write the books, and we are going to fucking win.

LE CHEMIN ALLUMÉE (2008) Acrylic - 36” X 36” “The very meaninglessness of life forces man to create his own meaning. The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent... 1/5

Reminder, the introductory sale price on the expanded digital edition of Wonderworks ends tomorrow (1/1). Get $5 off, still only $10 in our shop: www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/wonderw...

RED AS BLOOD (1982) Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 30" x 22" I have fond memories of the cover art for Tanith Lee's novel RED AS BLOOD simply because the act of creation was so enjoyable. I still regret selling the painting. 1/3

Open up this picture fully. Then look at the surface of Mars. Then look up to the top right. Spot Mars' moon Phobos high in the sky. Then notice the bright spot beside Phobos. That's Earth.

The Niimiipuu patches up battle damage after the battle with the Romulan warbirds. There's still some floaty-ness to one of the characters walk cycle that I need to fix, and I still need to tweak some of the workbee animation, as well as adding welding animations to the hull plate repairs.

Do I have this right? A Wall Street financier is shaping opinions for a newspaper owned by hedge funds to manufacture consent for technology built on intellectual theft to consolidate wealth and power into the hands of narcissistic billionaires while pouring gasoline on a climate crisis? 🤔

LUMEN 6 (1999)
 Acrylic on Panel - 32" x 32" 

Looking for the way to the light, a moment of discovery at last. 1/2

PERIWINKLE (1988) Acrylic on canvas - 34" x 21" Patricia A. McKillip is a terrific writer, very inspiring. 1/4

Final artwork for 2025 Digitally hand painted on Huion tablet in Clip Studio Paint #art #portrait #artistsonbluesky

In this week's newsletter, we look back on a conversation with Terry Booth published in THE ART OF MICHAEL WHELAN to re-examine how to categorize my work beyond just illustration and fine art. theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/scenes-and...

What a beautiful photo from last night’s snowfall. Photo credit: Adam Gray for The New York Times

ASTRAL MUSE (2016) Acrylic - 9” x 6” This piece of mat board was used as a palette while working on the cover for Brandon Sanderson’s WORDS OF RADIANCE. Half of the scrap was turquoise while the rest was reds and oranges. Random brushstrokes suggested the figure that I painted in. 1/2

QRP with your artwork and share what other passions/jobs/hobbies you have! ✨ I go to as many music gig as I can, all my tshirts are band tshirts bc you gotta support the artists, I can play the piano (badly) and now I’ve started drums, I also read a lot of SFF books but that’s probably a given?

NARROW WAY (1984) Acrylic on Canvas - 30” x 20” The greatest measure of my satisfaction as an illustrator comes when I produce an artwork that reflects my artistic concerns just as much as it illustrates the book. This painting is one of the best examples of that happy condition. 1/3

Welcome back, artists! Quote Post with an old piece that you still like!

I know that usually if you hang around long enough you "get it" eventually, but here's some quick explainers about different types of posts going around for art. A lot of new people reply to art trains or halt the train by not copying text, so here's the difference!

Hi everyone! This is a little animation I made this year. I plan to make a short animated film featuring my characters. I hope I accomplish this next year!

WINTER’S GLOW (2012) Acrylic on Yupo Paper - 12” x 12” I wasn’t feeling in the holiday spirit, and as usual it took a painting to get me into the mood of the season. Don Maitz first recommended “Yupo paper” to me, and I was pleased with how the sheet he lent me handled acrylics. 1/13

I know it's Christmas Eve, but an Ontario animal sanctuary (pet pigs, horses, etc) just had their water tank system fail. It's going to cost over $3000 to fix it, and it's an emergency situation (the animals have to have water). Please donate/share if you can: www.ralphysretreat.ca

Daniel Greene takes on the History of Fantasy Art. It's an ambitious topic with much more to cover, but definitely worth your time. ~ME youtu.be/XOc2DkpRb0E?...

WOODLAND PEACE (2008) Acrylic - 12" X 9" Whenever it’s been a tough year, I’ve found a way to portray that quietly in my annual holiday card. 1/2

Make sure everyone at your job understands this

WINTER ENCHANTMENT (1997) Acrylic - 20” x 25” At the height of the winter, the nights may stretch longer but the days are always full of wonder. That magic of possibilities is what I tried to capture in this painting. 1/3

PEACE (1993) Oil on Canvas - 20" x 14" This has become one of the most popular images I created for the family holiday card. 1/2

So deeply not kidding when I say that the current paradigm of "Gen AI" is doing deep, lasting harm to our ability to make knowledge, meaning, & truth w/ each other. Like… it's really fucking us up & if we don't stop it soon we're gonna see a kind of negative chaos frankly unimaginable to most ppl 👍🏾

THE ARCH OF SOLSTICE (2016) Acrylic - 16” x 26” For several months, I’d been taking daily walks after sunset, and the moon has been my companion much of the time. One evening a crescent moon hung over the horizon with Venus glowing brilliantly below it. 1/4 www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/we...

Yes, a couple of friends of mine are up there in that frame. The ones in the foreground are based on Jack S. Koffman (left) and Barclay Shaw (right). The other two are just made up. I feel I got Jack’s likeness fairly well, while Barclay, er, not so much. The woman is made up also. 1/4

Busted! I did exactly what you described: I tilted a reversed photo in the mirror I was painting from and copied it that way. It felt very awkward.

Mirror

Pure whim. I’ve answered this question a number of times over the years, and the answer has always been the same: Some images in my head “feel” like oil paintings, others in acrylics. That’s the truth, though I don’t expect anyone to believe it. I can amend that just a bit here though. 1/2

THE GOLDEN KEY (1995) Oil on Gessoboard - 36” x 24” In this story written by 3 top female fantasy authors—Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott—the court painter is a mad artist. 1/3

My professional artists peers! We got a survey request! Researchers at the University of Carnegie Mellon is doing a research to see how generative Al has (or has not) impacted your work and/or sentiments in the industry. Folks in creative fields only, please consider filling this out 👇

Cory is a broker of good deeds, helping market self published and indie authors by connecting them with audiences, in this case readers who need fictional escape in the worst way. Keep an eye on the good things Tailwind Projects has in store by giving them a follow. ~ME

"they don't know how to express the idea" here's rian johnson's storyboard for knives out pick up a pencil and a napkin

WINTER RETURNING (1994) Acrylic - 8 ½” x 9” This started as a whim on a scrap of illustration board—a “leftover” before I found that designation for such small sketchy work. I was riffing with colors and not expecting anything to come from the shapes I was playing with. 1/2

More painting practice featuring my watcher Sylas #ocart | #originalart | #art

Going into 2026 like ... @michaelwhelan.bsky.social