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. 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. 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). 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. 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. 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. Whelan is still going strong these days, exhibiting his work all over the world. Suffice to say that he has been awarded many times over the years for these works. 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. 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. 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.

Michael whelan the dark tower