Michael Whelan (born June 29, 1950) is one of the big boys in the realm of contemporary fantastic illustration, so much so that one cannot help stumbling upon this artist when being involved in the subject. His career spans all over five decades, a very dilated time-span in which he has created paintings for many book publishers of the sci-fi genre, as well as record covers for many bands. His paintings have appeared on the covers of more than 350 fantasy books by contemporary writers such as Stephen King, Anne McCaffrey, Melanie Rawn and Michael Moorcock, also classic writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.P. Lovecraft, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert A. Heinlein. Suffice to say that he has been awarded many times over the years for these works. Whelan is still going strong these days, exhibiting his work all over the world. Michael Whelan’s works were a great influence in the transition for the fantastic genre when shifting away from the surrealism promoted in the 1950s and 1960s, back to a more realistic aesthetics.

Many people know that I have been posting images of works by Whelan on social media on uncountable occasions, so it was just about time for me to dedicate some thoughts to this fascinating artist. Since Michael Whelan is such a prodigious painter I have decided to focus mostly on one of his most well-known facets, the one which he calls ‘alternate reality’, leaving his more fantasy-oriented works a bit on the sideline.

I for one see this personal alternative reality vision of his as a representation of the world of dreams in which the viewer can behold a more introspective, as well as evocative, approach in contrast with his more commercial assignments (which tend to be more fantasy-oriented). Who has never dreamed of ‘places’ such as Whelan represents in these pictures?; strange buildings, abandoned factories, solitary gardens, ancient cities in ruins – what messages can these dream portend? The protagonists of these paintings (usually women) seem to be stranded in a perennial world of twilight, of red-coloured lights and long shadows cast by otherworldly sunsets. In other paintings Whelan seems to represent the ancient race-memory of a people who once inhabited this world (like in the case of Sentinels, 1988) millions of moons ago, but whose presence is still being felt, maybe in some realm beyond the pole. But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here.

Dreams are the passageways that connect the collective unconscious with the oneiric world, so it is no surprise that such visions of dreams and ancient memories should intertwine with one another. One never ceases to wonder what Carl G. Jung would have made of such images. Other works like Songs of The Distant Earth (1986), even if designed only for the purpose of illustrating the book by Arthur C. Clarke of the same name, seem to give us a glimpse of a possible Utopian future for our people, even if it is only as a figment of the imagination.

When viewing Whelan’s most introspective works I can’t help making up stories in my mind tantalized by the imagery these pictures project. One of Whelan’s most contemplative and personal paintings is probably Bluebird (2001). The evocative atmosphere of this work brings a feeling of nostalgia and loneliness to me, something only comparable to that last famous slow motion scene of Roy Batty in the film Bladerunner (1982) by Ridley Scott. Other pictures seem to talk about extreme isolation and solitude among the ruins; Erosion (1999), Chasm (2000), Dawn Portal (2006), Dreamseeker (2016), and most of all Empire of Dreams (2005). It’s worth noticing that many paintings by Michael Whelan contain the spiral element as ornament, a symbol which speaks of the human perception of beauty. On the other hand paintings like Passage To Sanctuary (1994) and the ‘Dream Corridor’ illustration seem to portray that approaching new era that we are struggling to reach at the end of the monstrous derelict technocratic tunnel in order to come out to the light of truth.

A world of concrete works in disarray, thrown about by some unknown cataclysm. The figure in the image realizes that safety lies not in hiding in darkness but in facing reality, seeking light, and acquiring knowledge. It is only with knowledge and the advantages of a greater perspective that one can hope to overcome obstacles.” – Michael Whelan on his painting ‘Empire of Dreams’.

All this said, I cannot help drawing a certain comparison between these works by Whelan and what the German romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich did back in the early 19th Century. Those ruins speak of the inevitability of time, but in those landscapes we can see an ethereal young woman who reminds us that blood, in spite of the ravages of time, perseveres through the ages as a perennial light in the long night. Check the paintings Afternoon Shadows (2006) and Dawn Journey (2010) as clear examples. As Whelan did with his Bluebird painting, Friedrich employed the ‘Rückenfigur’, a person seen from behind who contemplates the view or interacts with the scenery as part of the landscape. The viewer is driven to place himself/herself in the position of the Rückenfigur, thus the viewer ‘experiences’ the scene as it is perceived by the human figure in it.

All in all these are my personal musings on these paintings. The author himself seems to have his own interpretation of his works for what I have gathered reading on his official website (where one can find his in-depth biography, as well as the bulk of his graphic work), so I will not extend myself on this. I will leave you at once with the artist’s work, as images can speak better than a thousand words. Enjoy.

For certain copyright issues the name ‘Michael Whelan’ must show in all captions, so bear with me if it gets a bit repetitious, but that is the way it has to be. Most of the pictures’ captions are taken from Michael Whelan’s official website (except otherwise indicated).

