Michael Whelan
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michaelwhelan.bsky.social
Michael Whelan
@michaelwhelan.bsky.social
28K followers 940 following 3.9K posts
Fine artist of Imaginative Realism. Retired illustrator of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Winner of 15 Hugo Awards. Inducted into the SF Hall of Fame in 2009.
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michaelwhelan.bsky.social
Cover illustration for Clifford D. Simak (Ace) 3/3

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Paperback book cover for THE TROUBLE WITH TYCHO by Clifford D. SImak, published by Ace Books
February 11, 2026 at 2:35 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
For the first time in my professional career, I incorporated my signature into the design of an object in the illustration—the living astronaut‘s patch. 2/3
Figure detail from THE TROUBLE WITH TYCHO featuring a man in spacesuit throwing up his hands as a swarm of blue lights approaches from behind, leaving a light trail back to the horizon. A red patch on his suit is emblazoned in white letters with the artists sigil, M and W stylized within a circle. Foreground detail from THE TROUBLE WITH TYCHO featuring a dead astronaut laying face down in the regolith. His helm is cracked, reduced to shards around him. All the remains of his head is the bones of his skull.
February 11, 2026 at 2:35 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
THE TROUBLE WITH TYCHO (1976)
Acrylic on Illustration Board

While excavating on the Moon, an astronaut bites the dust (I couldn’t resist) and another fights vainly against a malevolent alien energy. 1/3

#booksky #art
A man in spacesuit with bubble helm throws up his arms as he’s swarmed by blue lights. The fuzzy dots of light leave a trail back to the horizon, obscuring some of the star field. In front of man, face down in the regolith lies the remains of another astronaut whose helm is cracked. All that remains of his head are the bones of his skull.
February 11, 2026 at 2:35 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
When I finished this Portals painting in March of that year, however, I was definitely ready to start seeing more of the sun! 2/2

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Detail from TIME’S PASSING featuring a square window standing on point on the facade of a ruined stone structure in the woods. The arch over the window is made of thin stones while the window itself is four rounded crosses. The lintel is marked with small diamonds weeping rust. Below sits a weathered copper sun and an arched doorway. Detail from TIME’S PASSING featuring the arched doorway through a ruined stone structure in the wood. The trees rising on the other side of the portal of the doorway are skeletal and bare framing the moon in wintry blue sky.
February 10, 2026 at 1:56 PM
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TIME’S PASSING (2007)
Oil on Panel - 26” x 16”

As a native Californian, I really enjoy the change in seasons that I experience living in New England. There is even beauty to be found in the shadows of the leafless trees against the pale gray winter sky. 1/2

#art
The view through an open archway of a ruined stone structure. Beyond the winter sky is pale and desaturated with the sun barely visible in contrast. Thin stones make up what remains of the structure. A weathered copper sun sits above the keystone. The trees in the background are all skeletal and bare. The snow in the immediate foreground suggests the last dregs of winter when the season drags on forever.
February 10, 2026 at 1:56 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
Cover illustration for STONE OF FAREWELL by Tad Williams (DAW) 4/4

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Wraparound dustjacket for STONE OF FAREWELL by Tad Williams, published by DAW Books Background detail from STONE OF FAREWELL featuring the rocky peak rising out of the lake. Barely perceptible, a castle sits at the top. The shape of the stone implies an open hand in its gray outline. Evergreens line tiered ridges, arching low on the rock to suggest a bearded face. Figure detail from STONE OF FAREWELL featuring Simon holding the smooth black blade while standing in the wintry woods. A kaleidoscope of butterflies burst through the woods behind him. He holds a mirror clutched to his chest and an arrow pointed up. His cloak and the sleeves showing beneath are simple and rough. Red hair sweeps across his forehead with the leading edge notably snow white. A long scar runs down his left cheek from temple to jaw, and a stern expression narrows his eyes as his lips are pressed shut.
February 9, 2026 at 2:14 PM
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Since the right side of the painting would be the front cover with the title and author's name, I created just enough extra interest there to cause the eye to settle on that side. 3/4
Figure detail from STONE OF FAREWELL featuring Simon holding the smooth black blade while standing in the wintry woods. A kaleidoscope of butterflies burst through the woods behind him. Pencil sketch for STONE OF FAREWELL featuring Simon holding the long sword with hilt rising just above his head. He holds a hand mirror in the crook of his arm. Among handwritten notes reads "scar on cheek" although that has not yet been rendered.
February 9, 2026 at 2:14 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
Sometimes I work hard at wedding the halves and other times I like the demarcation between sides and I seek to exploit it. The 2 sides of this cover flow together, but it has 2 main objects vying for attention. 2/4
Preliminary concept for STONE OF FAREWELL featuring Simon holding up the sword with the hilt over his head and an arrow held to form a cross. Tucked against his chest is a hand mirror. At the center, a stone suggesting a grave marker etched with fantasy script tips into the screen on a diagonal. On the left, figures A pair of figures approach the tall spire of rock.
February 9, 2026 at 2:14 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
STONE OF FAREWELL (1989)
Acrylic on Canvas - 21” X 46”

The main problem in doing what is called a wraparound cover—art that wraps around from the front to the back of the book—is in trying to avoid pieces that look like two different paintings stuck together. 1/4

#booksky #fantasy
Standing in a wintry forest, a man grips the blade of a smooth black sword that stands hilt up as tall as he is. In a kaleidoscope of thousands of wings, butterflies burst through the woods behind him. Dour faced, Simon is wrapped plainly in heavy green cloak. A snowy lock set in red hair sweeps wide across his forehead. The channel of a scar meanders down from his temple following the curve of his cheek all the way to his jaw. He clutches a white arrow and silver hand mirror in the crook of his arm. Set opposite panel left, the forest opens to a serene view of a lake. Framed by birch trees, a tall cool stone rises from the water. Barely perceptible, a castle sits at the top. The shape of the stone implies an open hand in its gray outline. Evergreens line tiered ridges, arching low on the rock to suggest a bearded face.
February 9, 2026 at 2:14 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
Today’s newsletter features the story of how I came to illustrate She, the classic fantasy-adventure by H. Rider Haggard.

theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/the-haggar...
At the end of a long thin ramp of craggy rock, a woman trailing raven black hair casts a glance to the audience as she's poised with weight on her lead foot ready to launch into open air. Much of the painting is dark but a cone of light starting off-panel left highlights her lithe figure. Red background bleeds through thin skirts. The outline of her legs contrasts darkly against rippling folds. An updraft of air captured in the light around her sweeps upward to a hinted outline of mountains. Her arms are flung wide. A long veil wraps the side of her face, frames her chin, and billows out to where she holds the end loosely with the tips of her fingers. Wispy forward-arcing lines—jagged like an abstracted bolt of lightning—descend over her, curving back down to point to her lead knee. A trio of loosely rendered sketches on canvas featuring various poses of a woman poised at the end of upturn rocky outcrop. The largest is set atop the other two and like the lower left is loosely painted. The lower right is a loose pencil sketch showing the texture of the canvas.
February 8, 2026 at 3:10 PM
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With the addition of windblown ice crystals and a little ‘aeroplane’ for scale, these random brushstrokes became a scene from AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. 4/4

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Close detail from OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS featuring the Dornier J Wal. The plane is odd in that the engine is mounted behind the fixed wing with the aft propeller defined by a line of radial motion with a dot in the center. Barely discernible, skis hang from the bottom of the plane instead of landing gear. A pair of red stripes mark the end of the wings with another on the body and then the tail.
February 7, 2026 at 12:36 PM
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This brought to mind H.P. Lovecraft’s descriptions of strange shapes seen on the mountain range his explorers fly over when traveling to the Plain of Leng. 3/4
Detail from OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS isolating the white plane in contrast to a dark mass of mountains as it flies over. Odd cubic shapes shadow the range to the right while standing more refined in gray-brown color in the lower left.
February 7, 2026 at 12:36 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
While applying random brushstrokes to a piece of illustration board, they began to look more and more like little cubes to me. 2/4
Photograph of the artist’s hand gripping a brush with angled tip over a paper sample brushstrokes demonstrating the clean blocky edge. The top edge of the paper overlaps the completed painting OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS resting on the drafting table.
February 7, 2026 at 12:36 PM
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OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (2017)
Acrylic on Illustration Board - 6” x 10”

I bought some slanted brushes that I found fun to play with when I want straight edges in a picture. 1/4

#art #booksky
Tilted perspective of a tiny plane flying over a dark range of mountains. The composition is heavier on the left with snow infiltrating on the right where the odd cubic shapes eventually give way to an expanse of white that stretches to the horizon. The plane is odd in that the engine is mounted behind the fixed wing.
February 7, 2026 at 12:36 PM
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Cover illustration for DRAGONSDAWN by Anne McCaffrey (Del Rey) 5/5

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Book cover for DRAGONSDAWN by Anne McCaffrey, published by Del Rey
February 6, 2026 at 2:16 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
When I got back to the studio, I repainted the water and then sent it in. There's no substitute for studying the real thing. 4/5
Preliminary concept developed for DRAGONSDAWN featuring a woman emerging from a cave on a small island with her arms out wide and dragons perched there. Background detail from DRAGONSDAWN featuring islands rising from the blue lavender sea. On the foreground island, a leafless alien tree stands at the edge of a rocky hill. The trunk is comprises of short cylinders that form plateaus as if expressing a vertical growing cycle. Stiff pointy branches extend to the side like spears. Figure detail from DRAGONSDAWN featuring a woman in a yellow jumpsuit emerging from a cave. She stands with arms outstretched. A tiny dragon perches on each forearm.
February 6, 2026 at 2:16 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
We took a side trip to the fabulous beaches in South Wales. While standing in the water, I looked back at the shore and realized a flaw in the painting still sitting on my easel at home. 3/5
Alternative preliminary concept for DRAGONSDAWN featuring a woman standing on a small island with her arms out wide. Tiny dragons perch on her arms and others swirl around her.
February 6, 2026 at 2:16 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
When I finished, I had a vague sense of unease and didn't send it off to the publisher before leaving for the World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton, England. 2/5
Alternative preliminary concept for DRAGONSDAWN featuring a woman on one knee, leaning forward with a tiny dragon perched on her arm. A man stands beside her with a dragon perched on his far shoulder.
February 6, 2026 at 2:16 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
DRAGONSDAWN (1987)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 25” x 36”

This was the first cover in the Dragonriders of Pern series to feature the beloved fire lizards and I really enjoyed painting them. 1/5
A redheaded woman in a yellow jumpsuit emerges from a cave. She stands with arms outstretched in a T shape. A tiny dragon perches on each forearm. She's framed by the entrance of the cave, which is set in a hillside on a small island. Water washes up the sand in front of her. Bare alien trees extend upward from the hillside. The trunks are tan and segmented like bamboo. Some trunks are thicker, combining many thick shoots into their mass. Leafless branches project out sharply. More islands can be seen in distance on the left side of the painting along with two moons hanging in a gold and pastel sky glowing as the sun rises out of view.
February 6, 2026 at 2:16 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
Some time later back home, I recalled the memory and decided to commit it to paint…but with a couple of additional elements I “saw” in my head. I appreciated the symbolism therein, so rather than question it I just painted it the way it was “meant" to be. 4/4

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Close detail from FLIGHT OF DISCOVERY featuring a flat metal heart hanging from a clump of wildflowers growing above the keystone of a ruined castle archway. With wings spread, a dove glides through the windowed opening above as the golden tint of sunset suffuses the uneven stones.
February 5, 2026 at 2:22 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
The vivid orange light was shining through the space in the upper part of the structure, and even though we had to hurry back the sight of it stopped me in my tracks. 3/4
Detail from FLIGHT OF DISCOVERY featuring view nearly straight up of a dove gliding through the windowed opening of Castle Pennard. The stonework arch is lit with the golden orange of sunset. Above a castle wall marked with clumps of wildflowers growing in the stonework, a crescent moon hangs in lavender and blue sky.
February 5, 2026 at 2:22 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
Eventually the day was waning fast so we decided to make our way back, but chose to go out via a different route than we took coming in. After a brief ascent up a winding trail we passed by the ruins of an old fortification which was just catching the rays of the setting sun. 2/4
Castell Pennard. Photo Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff (CC BY-SA 2.0). A worn path in a wild grass field leads to water past what little remains of a castle, a windowed archway between two round towers made of uneven stone. The tower on the right is shorter, crumbling over the years, but the archway between remains intact. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castell_Pennard_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1307870.jpg
February 5, 2026 at 2:22 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
FLIGHT OF DISCOVERY (2013)
Acrylic on Canvas - 16" x 12"

The stonework was based on ruins we saw in Wales, near a place called Three Cliffs on the Gower Peninsula. We had spent most of the day walking on the gorgeous beach there and looking for fossils in the rocks nearby. 1/4

#art
Low angle view of a dove flying through the windowed opening set above the entrance to the ruins of an abbey. Moss and wildflowers grow along the rough wall of uneven stone. The top of an archway—cropped in the immediate foreground as if providing a view directly over the viewers head—catches the golden light of sunset. A weathered copper heart hangs from a chain over the archway. A crescent sliver of moon shines in the lavender and blue sky above it all.
February 5, 2026 at 2:22 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
Collectors will notice that I added the ropes after the book was published. 3/3

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The Gunslinger (2nd edition) with page open to the front endpapers, illustrating the painting in its original form without the ropes.
February 4, 2026 at 2:25 PM
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This view from inside as Roland and Jake walk away from the Way Station served as the endpapers for the Donald M. Grant edition of THE GUNSLINGER by Stephen King. 2/3
Detail from THE WAY STATION featuring the left side of the painting. The yellow desert is visible through gaps in the weathered boards. Tattered cloth hangs on the upper edge. Thin rope is tacked to a vertical board with the ends dangling down and the rest hanging in a loose arc that descends to the support board. None of the board, including the horizontal support, are straight giving the impression that the building was slapped together long ago and hasn't aged well. Detail from THE WAY STATION featuring Roland and Jake through an opening that is roughly square but impeded by boards. Jake glances back as they go. Decaying cloth dangles into the opening. Both sand and sky are pale yellow as if everything beyond the wall has been baked by the desert sun.
February 4, 2026 at 2:25 PM