Michael Whelan
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michaelwhelan.bsky.social
Michael Whelan
@michaelwhelan.bsky.social
28K followers 880 following 3.7K 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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Reposted by Michael Whelan
thegameworld.bsky.social
Final artwork for 2025

Digitally hand painted on Huion tablet in Clip Studio Paint

#art #portrait #artistsonbluesky
December 28, 2025 at 7:08 AM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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...
Light slants across the mist hanging over an Asian-style water garden. Lost in meditation, a monk sits with legs crossed, levitating a few feet off the ground. On either side of him, two banner hang from a pergola with wide overhanging eaves like a pagoda. Set on blue, an simple overlapping flower crest reflect Japanese iconography while on red an ornate dragon evokes Chinese style. On an arched bridge over peaceful green-blue waters, a band of warriors gather looking toward the solitary monk.
December 28, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Reposted by Michael Whelan
bachynski.bsky.social
What a beautiful photo from last night’s snowfall. Photo credit: Adam Gray for The New York Times
Snowflakes at night in front of a bridge. Photo credit: Adam Gray for The New York Times
December 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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
A woman rendered in limited color leaps with one raised knee up, posed against a starscape of cool tones. There is pink skin tone to her lead arm but the rest of her is cast in subtle lavender and blue green. Her arm is positioned vertically, trailing dots of lavender, red, and blue across the top edge of the panel as if in the act of cosmic creation. Gold accents cross her forehead and dangle in a long chain of baubles that include a crescent. A dove spreads its wings in profile facing left at her hip. The hem of her dress ends in an abstract curl of fabric rendered more simplistically than the rest of her. Red orange dominates the lower left, creating a contrast of warm versus cool. The smaller orb of a star shines behind a sliver of crescent moon illuminating just the edge.
December 27, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Michael Whelan
niji707.bsky.social
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?
December 27, 2025 at 10:11 AM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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
A dark skinned man with blank eyes and white hair sits primly against the smooth face of rock with a tree casting soft shadows across it. The hood of his pristine white robes is drawn up and his hands rest penitently in his lap. He holds a black metal rod, topped with an owl, angled back toward him. On the path leading up to him, a human skull rests on a pebble strewn ground. Beyond, a tall set of stairs leads up to a set of double doors, part of a large paneled arch four times its height.
December 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Michael Whelan
nozomimats.bsky.social
Welcome back, artists!

Quote Post with an old piece that you still like!
A woman with pale skin and bright, curling red hair, adorned in autumn leaves and moths, moves gracefully through a field of silvergrass and thistles, heralding the coming of autumn. The sky is a bright blue with fluffy clouds. A flock of birds can also be seen flying away.
December 25, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Reposted by Michael Whelan
aimeecozza.com
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!
Art train vs art share for now Bluesky users with visual aids. The left has an "art train" post that says "You are “putting a train car” on the train. Do not reply. Instead, use the quote repost to keep the train moving! Copy the last person’s text." The center reads "You are “putting a train car” on the train. Do not reply. Instead, use the quote repost to keep the train moving! Copy the last person’s text. TAG SOMEONE if the train calls for it or else you will end the train! “Tag yourself if you want” won’t cut it." the last reads "You are sharing your art. Following the rules of the art share (read them all!), reply with your art and comment/repost other’s art." It gives notes in the posts as well such as noting similar text for the art train, and then the specific set of rules for an art train with tags and art share.
January 5, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Reposted by Michael Whelan
twomothersuns.bsky.social
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!
December 25, 2025 at 2:03 AM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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
A woman stands like the queen of winter glancing off panel left with a stately air as two cardinals—one gold, one red—perch on her extended fingers as she cups one hand in another. Her gown is ethereal as the white lace of the sleeves sparkle like white holiday lights. The gold tinted silk of her dress puffs slightly at the shoulder, accented with lines of regal purple until tied off with a thin golden bow. Set at the center on her forehead is a blue-green gem bound in a gold inlaid oval. Her hair is a full white mane held back by a band of holly, berries, and flowers—subdued in color but mostly gold—in a variety of blooms. The night sky is alive with traces of cirrus clouds sweeping past a crescent moon. An owl takes flight past her shoulder. A deer huddles close.
December 25, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by Michael Whelan
kristadb1.bsky.social
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
Our Story | Ralphy's Retreat Animal Sanctuary
How did Ralphy's Retreat begin?
www.ralphysretreat.ca
December 24, 2025 at 11:27 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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?...
The Art That Built Fantasy (Frazetta, Vallejo, Brom & More!)
YouTube video by Daniel Greene
youtu.be
December 24, 2025 at 7:56 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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
Cupping a candle in her hands, a woman in pale blue robes stands on a rock strewn hill in an autumnal wooded scene. Her cheeks are flush in the glow of the flame. White cloth wraps her head, constraining red hair. The wrap drapes down her side falling with a shawl-like fringe. A Douglas fir rises behind her, an evergreen amid bare skeletal trees with barely any leaves. Golden leaves carpet the forest floor. Two white doves perch on the ground nearby.
December 24, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Michael Whelan
coreybrickley.bsky.social
Make sure everyone at your job understands this
December 23, 2025 at 4:49 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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
In a wintry forest scene, a fairy descends on delicate wings to touch the top a snowy evergreen with a long crystal wand. A crystalized snowflake materializes at the tip as a troop of ice fairies dance with ballerina-like grace while adding lights around the tree. A clear patch of ice reflects the small but festive tree. Off to the side, an elf hides in another snow burdened tree holding up the artists MW sigil. The art was intended to fold into a pyramid shaped card so the perspective is a fishbowl-like view of the forest tapering to the full moon that shows through a break in the clouds.
December 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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
With eyes closed in contemplation, a woman in plain white gown cradles a dove in her lap. Her blonde hair is tied up with a band of holly. A circular window bounded by a wreath opens behind her to expose a wooded, mountainous scene, tinted by the blue night sky.
December 22, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by Michael Whelan
wolvendamien.bsky.social
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 👍🏾
screenshot of a Tumblr post from user ecofear yelling "what is HAPPENING" in response to a screenshot of a quotetweet from user @Ovichknox reading "this is so scary to me. i recommended a book to a friend recently and she came back to me a day later saying it was really good and i asked if she finished it already and she said "yeah i got chatgpt to summarise each chapter into 3 paragraphs to it was easy to read" which is replying to a tweet from @alz_zyd reading "Personally, I read a bunch of classics in high register in college. I guess it was fun. I recently ChatGPT'd Aristotle into readable English, finished it around 5x as fast as a translation, and felt l got the main gist of things. idk does the pain incurred…" Followed by a a reblog from tumblr use moonglade-poetess reading "Hey guys, with so much love, and as someone with an actual English degree: Please just use Sparknotes if you're going to do this. I get it. I do. But chatgpt or other genAl shit doesn't actually know what's important for you to know, and in some cases it might fully make shit up. Use sparknotes. Failing that, talk to someone who did read it. I'm begging.
January 18, 2025 at 3:58 AM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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...
Rendered in white, an angelic figure with wings spread reaches up to a point of light in the sky situated beneath a sliver of crescent moon and framed by a natural stone arch. Along the arch—and in the foreground right—evergreen trees are topped with snow.
December 20, 2025 at 3:38 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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
stalkinggoat.bsky.social Stalking Goat @stalkinggoat.bsky.social · 9d
Were the aristocrats in the group portrait on the wall based on real people?
December 20, 2025 at 1:56 AM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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.
carlhdesign.bsky.social Carl @carlhdesign.bsky.social · 9d
how wonderfully thoughtful of them :)

Was it difficult to paint the portrait on the easel with its foreshortening? For the face at least I'd be very likely to tilt a reference photo it to match in photoshop and print it out so I could look at it actually flat like your (real world) canvas.
December 20, 2025 at 1:52 AM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
Mirror
exhululath.bsky.social Exhululath @exhululath.bsky.social · 9d
This is just superb, I think it's museum material!

May I ask if you had someone take a photo of you in the right pose, or if you posed in front of a mirror like classical artists did for self-portraits?
December 20, 2025 at 1:50 AM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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
ralphhorsley.bsky.social Ralph Horsley @ralphhorsley.bsky.social · 9d
What influences your decision to work in oils or acrylics?
December 20, 2025 at 1:49 AM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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
Dressed in elegant period costume, a brown haired man with goatee holds up a key dangling from a chain around his neck. In his other hand he holds a brush. He stands at his easel where a man is painted with hands up in defensive panic. A silver dagger is embedded in his chest, pinning a gold ribbon to him. In the foreground right, a table covered with cloth pattern green an white holds various symbols including a memento mori skull, an arcane book, and an hourglass tipped on its side. Peeking around the corner behind the artist is a young woman with hand to her chest.
December 19, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Michael Whelan
kortizart.bsky.social
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 👇
Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.
cmu.ca1.qualtrics.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:57 PM
michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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
tailwindprojects.bsky.social Tailwind Projects @tailwindprojects.bsky.social · 10d
I have a longer post coming for each author but this needed to go up today. First delivery of Project Phoenix books to its Shelf in an Addiction Rehabilitation Facility Library!

I’ll expand more below! ⬇️🧵💨
December 19, 2025 at 7:34 AM