Cat is always checking to see if the patch is there, and it occurred to me what an evocative gesture that was. It suggests his nervousness about coming down from the drug and that he's listening to other people's thoughts. 3/4

So it went with the cover to CATSPAW by Joan D. Vinge. The title character possesses latent psi abilities that enable him to sense other people's thoughts...provided he takes a certain seductive and addicting drug. To heighten his powers he is compelled to get hooked on the drug, which he administers to himself via a skin patch placed behind his ear. 2/4

CATSPAW (1988)
Acrylic on Resin Board - 30” x 20”

Sometimes a cover concept blazes into my internal vision while reading the book, and I know no other will do. Even after finding the best approach, I'll spend days trying to outdo it to make sure my first instinct was correct. 1/4

#sciencefiction #illustration #joandvinge #bookcover

Now she’s stranded... 2/2

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/watchtower/

WATCHTOWER (1999)

Acrylic on Panel - 28" x 22" 


While the figure in the tower was watching her TV, the tide came in and then receded, taking her boat and ruining her ladder in the process. 1/2

#personalvisions #fineart #imaginativerealism

In this week’s newsletter, I discuss my sigil vs signature, give cover design advice, and answer a question of nudity:

https://theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/february-q-and-a-with-michael-whelan

Cover illustration for Clifford D. Simak (Ace) 3/3

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/trouble-with-tycho/

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

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

#sciencefiction #illustration #clifforddsimak #acebooks

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

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/times-passing/

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

#fineart #personalvisions #portals #imaginativerealism

Cover illustration for STONE OF FAREWELL by Tad Williams (DAW) 4/4

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/stone-of-farewell/

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

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

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

#fantasy #illustration #bookcover #tadwilliams #ostenard #dawbooks

Collectors will notice that I added the ropes after the book was published. 3/3

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/gunslinger-waystation/

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

THE WAY STATION (1982)
Acrylic on Illustration Board - 20” x 30”

It should come as a surprise to no one that I just love painting textures. 1/3

#horror #illustration #darktower #stephenking #rolanddeschain #jakechambers #gunslinger

FORTITUDE (1997)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 9" x 12"

I got to thinking of Edgar Rice Burroughs' character John Carter of Mars....whenever it looked like the odds were hopeless and he had no options, his response was a defiant, “I still live!”

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/fortitude/

#personalvisions #fineart #imaginativerealism #virtues

Cover illustration for ENSIGN FLANDRY by Poul Anderson (ACE) 4/4

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/ensign-flandry/