Michael Whelan
@michaelwhelan.bsky.social
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.
EMPIRE OF DREAMS (2005)
Acrylic on Gessoboard - 28” x 22”
A world of concrete works in disarray, thrown about by some unknown cataclysm. 1/3
Acrylic on Gessoboard - 28” x 22”
A world of concrete works in disarray, thrown about by some unknown cataclysm. 1/3
February 12, 2026 at 2:16 PM
EMPIRE OF DREAMS (2005)
Acrylic on Gessoboard - 28” x 22”
A world of concrete works in disarray, thrown about by some unknown cataclysm. 1/3
Acrylic on Gessoboard - 28” x 22”
A world of concrete works in disarray, thrown about by some unknown cataclysm. 1/3
Reposted by Michael Whelan
Posted the entire Earth and Sea series of oil paintings on the MuddyColors blog, link:
www.muddycolors.com/2026/02/eart...
It is always a pleasure to tap into these deep creative motivators as an artist.
Mermaid-Search for Mother study
21”x21” oil on panel 2011
www.muddycolors.com/2026/02/eart...
It is always a pleasure to tap into these deep creative motivators as an artist.
Mermaid-Search for Mother study
21”x21” oil on panel 2011
February 12, 2026 at 12:07 PM
Posted the entire Earth and Sea series of oil paintings on the MuddyColors blog, link:
www.muddycolors.com/2026/02/eart...
It is always a pleasure to tap into these deep creative motivators as an artist.
Mermaid-Search for Mother study
21”x21” oil on panel 2011
www.muddycolors.com/2026/02/eart...
It is always a pleasure to tap into these deep creative motivators as an artist.
Mermaid-Search for Mother study
21”x21” oil on panel 2011
Reposted by Michael Whelan
Reposted by Michael Whelan
Reposted by Michael Whelan
ICE Detention Facilities
Follow my work and writing on Substack: nickanderson.substack.com
Follow my work and writing on Substack: nickanderson.substack.com
February 11, 2026 at 5:40 PM
ICE Detention Facilities
Follow my work and writing on Substack: nickanderson.substack.com
Follow my work and writing on Substack: nickanderson.substack.com
Reposted by Michael Whelan
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground
February 11, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground
Reposted by Michael Whelan
We're gonna need a bigger tree. Handmade lino print.
#birds #art #linocut #linoprint #printmaking
Liquoricelino.etsy.com
#birds #art #linocut #linoprint #printmaking
Liquoricelino.etsy.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:28 PM
We're gonna need a bigger tree. Handmade lino print.
#birds #art #linocut #linoprint #printmaking
Liquoricelino.etsy.com
#birds #art #linocut #linoprint #printmaking
Liquoricelino.etsy.com
Reposted by Michael Whelan
@nemy.bsky.social's beautiful Asra 🥀🔥
February 10, 2026 at 1:29 AM
@nemy.bsky.social's beautiful Asra 🥀🔥
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
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
February 10, 2026 at 1:56 PM
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
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
Reposted by Michael Whelan
One I liked from late last year. Here's to a good week!
February 9, 2026 at 1:54 PM
One I liked from late last year. Here's to a good week!
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
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
February 9, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Reposted by Michael Whelan
This #BlackHistoryMonth, Somali families in Minnesota are being targeted, detained, harassed, and injured under the Trump administration.
That's Black families being subjected to violence for being Black.
Black history isn’t just something we remember, it’s being written right now.
That's Black families being subjected to violence for being Black.
Black history isn’t just something we remember, it’s being written right now.
February 8, 2026 at 6:15 PM
This #BlackHistoryMonth, Somali families in Minnesota are being targeted, detained, harassed, and injured under the Trump administration.
That's Black families being subjected to violence for being Black.
Black history isn’t just something we remember, it’s being written right now.
That's Black families being subjected to violence for being Black.
Black history isn’t just something we remember, it’s being written right now.
The trees were done on the fly, without any reference at all. I had a photo I’d taken of our secretary Pam for the figure, but everything else was just made up.
Thanks for your interest!
Thanks for your interest!
Do you remember what your reference was for the trees? I remember seeing them on that cover and it being one of my earliest thoughts about alien ecologies and worldbuilding.
February 8, 2026 at 5:43 PM
The trees were done on the fly, without any reference at all. I had a photo I’d taken of our secretary Pam for the figure, but everything else was just made up.
Thanks for your interest!
Thanks for your interest!
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...
theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/the-haggar...
February 8, 2026 at 3:10 PM
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...
theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/the-haggar...
Reposted by Michael Whelan
Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
February 7, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.
Reposted by Michael Whelan
The quality of art is not the quality of the art; if it were, art would begin and end w/photorealism. The quality of art is in the quality of the artist's observations. Some of the greatest novels have workmanlike prose; they are carried by jaw-dropping truths about human life. Or take cartooning--
February 7, 2026 at 2:37 AM
The quality of art is not the quality of the art; if it were, art would begin and end w/photorealism. The quality of art is in the quality of the artist's observations. Some of the greatest novels have workmanlike prose; they are carried by jaw-dropping truths about human life. Or take cartooning--
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
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
February 6, 2026 at 2:16 PM
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
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
Reposted by Michael Whelan
So, hey…reporters…make sure when you write about what this administration *says* they’re going to do that you note that they have a massive history of LYING.
It will make 2026 a little easier if y’all just start establishing the fact that they are not to be trusted. Ever.
It will make 2026 a little easier if y’all just start establishing the fact that they are not to be trusted. Ever.
I’m on the scene at Franklin and 1st. A convoy of about a couple dozen ICE/HSI agents broke the entryway into an apartment building at 6am. No warrant presented. Less than 24 hours ago, Tom Homan announced the end of large convoys in Minnesota… Bullshit.
February 5, 2026 at 2:31 PM
So, hey…reporters…make sure when you write about what this administration *says* they’re going to do that you note that they have a massive history of LYING.
It will make 2026 a little easier if y’all just start establishing the fact that they are not to be trusted. Ever.
It will make 2026 a little easier if y’all just start establishing the fact that they are not to be trusted. Ever.
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
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
February 5, 2026 at 2:22 PM
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
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
Reposted by Michael Whelan
3d pose -> finished illustration
just wanted to show it
just wanted to show it
February 4, 2026 at 2:03 PM
3d pose -> finished illustration
just wanted to show it
just wanted to show it
Reposted by Michael Whelan
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off.
February 4, 2026 at 3:04 PM
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
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
Acrylic on Illustration Board - 20” x 30”
It should come as a surprise to no one that I just love painting textures. 1/3
February 4, 2026 at 2:25 PM
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
Acrylic on Illustration Board - 20” x 30”
It should come as a surprise to no one that I just love painting textures. 1/3
Reposted by Michael Whelan
Character How I draw them
February 2, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Character How I draw them