Book cover for STRONGHOLD by Melanie Rawn, published by DAW Books

Cover illustration for STRONGHOLD by Melanie Rawn (DAW Books) 2/2

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A shimmering circle of light surrounds the upraised arms of a woman who weaves light from the battlements of a castle. She wears an elegant dress of black and purple, and even in small detail it's obvious she's dripping in gold jewelry. Below an orange dragon with a yellow scaled belly blasts a stream of flame into the air. The gout isn't aimed at the armed men below who run in terror as their shield their eyes and bodies. A wall of white flames climbs the castle wall behind the dragon bathing the foreground in intense light. None of the flame consumes the surrounding bare trees or tents—evidence of a siege in progress but now broken.

Detail from STRONGHOLD featuring a Sunrunner weaving light from the top of castle battlements. Below an orange dragon cracks its maw to send a line of fire into the sky.

lose detail from STRONGHOLD featuring a woman with arms upraised as she weaves a shimmering circle of light. She wears an elegant dress of black and purple, and even in small detail it’s obvious she’s dripping in gold jewelry

STRONGHOLD (1990)
Acrylic - 30” x 20”

The magic in Melanie Rawn's Sunrunner trilogies involves weaving light, but just what is that faradhi on the battlements casting? There are clues to what's going on in the illustration. 1/2

#booksky #art

A massive stone arch straddles the horizon. The milky white stone texture of the "rainbow" stands against misty lavender sky. Gray-blue lines mark randomly patterns of interconnected lines and shapes. Circle, egg, broken ladder, swirl, hour glass—none of the shapes or lines repeat. Transparent spheres, each containing a solitary flame, float toward the arch. A long causeway extends out across a channel of blue water to the center of the arch. The channel splits what appears to be a futuristic city as seen from very high up. Skyscraper-like structures appear tiny against a stretch of flat concrete as they cast long shadows that run parallel to the horizon.

In this week’s newsletter, Michael provides advice on airbrushing, makes a statement on humanity’s long walk off a short pier, and discusses his one true homage to Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps.

theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/april-q-an...

Photograph of paint patterns featuring a long wavy line in green on black. The canvas is marked through with light dots.

When I came across this piece of canvas, I reveled in the opportunity to explore those dream waters again. 3/3

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Creature detail from DANCING IN STRANGE SEAS featuring a green sea dragon craning its neck. The pattern of its scales is an abstraction inspired by accidental paint patterns on a scrap of canvas.

Figure detail from DANCING IN STRANGE SEAS featuring a nude woman with flowing red hair floating in dark bubbly water. She spreads her arms, turning playfully to draw a transparently patterned organic cape behind her. The pattern on the jellyfish-like transparency changes from loose open circle to more defined paint marks suggesting the spots on peacock feathers that distort the farther the cape unfurls. Other sea creatures swim past...a trio of sea horses to the right and a slithering of eels below.

The stunning blues and greens of the water swirled in my thoughts all day. 2/3

Floating in a dark bubbly sea, a naked woman with flowing red hair spreads her arms wide, turning playfully to draw a transparently patterned cape behind her. Curious while passing by, a green sea dragon cranes its neck. Its sinuous body curves and rolls before finally looping back at the tip of its spaded tail. Foreclaws loll as it pauses between strokes, entranced by the aquatic dance. The woman holds out the ends of the jellyfish-like veil and it shifts in pattern as it flows in front of her. Leopard spots flare fiery in contrast passing over pale skin. Extending past her, the pattern morphs into abstract splotches much like the eyespots on a peacock feather, growing in size and shifting from green to blue to purple as the veil trails off panel.

DANCING IN STRANGE SEAS (2023)
Acrylic on Canvas - 8” x 12”

The other day I woke from a vivid dream. I was stranded on a deserted island—but quite happy about it as I was swimming! 1/3

#art

Book cover for OTHERLAND: CITY OF GOLDEN SHADOWS by Tad Williams, published by DAW Books.

Cover illustration for OTHERLAND: CITY OF GOLDEN SHADOWS by Tad Williams (DAW) 4/4

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Ancient iconography in the shape of a human head but with a computer chip set for the eye and mouth in profile. The golden paths of circuits stand out from the ancient patina of stone.

An abstract digital concept for CITY OF GOLDEN SHADOWS. A city rendered like digital audio noise sits in a field of glossy integrated circuitry. Angled mountains point up to a sky where a human eye floats in the place of the moon.

There was an MMORPG in development for years that has since shut down its servers:

youtu.be/-uHJYTpcUxs?...

Announcements about film and TV rights have been teased over the years, most recently in 2023, but so far nothing has come of it:

deadline.com/2023/12/othe...

3/4

Close detail from CITY OF GOLDEN SHADOWS featuring a nonsensical stream of symbols including a a dove, padlock, ammonite, hourglass, rowboat starfish, tobacco pipe, trilobite, hand mirror, swimming woman, fish, pocket watch, scissors, school bus, and wavy ladder.

Close detail from CITY OF GOLDEN SHADOWS featuring the gate in the lower right foreground. The gate is formed by the intersection of two parabolas, one wider and shorter than the other. It has an ornate spire rising from the top decorated at the top with a winged circle perched on a triangle. A shimmering trail snakes through and around the points of towers erected in a variety of styles.

The virtual reality storyline of Otherland offers a vast playground of the imagination. I doubt I’m alone feeling that in the right hands the series would make for a spectacular and compelling translation to film or television. 2/4

A shimmering cascade winds through a city of radiant domes and spires all rendered in gold. Eventually the concentrated stream dissipates as it exits lower right through an ornate gate of intersecting arches. Descending from high, an animated string of human figures, varying in sequential poses, vanishes down into a large jeweled window atop the largest dome. Across the dome's facade a nonsensical string of symbols floats (a dove, padlock, ammonite, hourglass, rowboat, starfish, etc).

OTHERLAND: CITY OF GOLDEN SHADOWS (1996)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 24” x 18”

A sophisticated blend of science fiction and fantasy that followed the groundbreaking epic Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams. 1/4

Black Lab: The 7th Album Help Paul finish the first new Black Lab album in ten years — support for mixing, mastering and marketing.

One of my favorite bands. Give them a listen and support if you feel moved. -ME

Check out Black Lab: The 7th Album by Paul Durham on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/pau...

Detail from THE CROSSING featuring a transparent sphere containing a solitary flame, floating over a fallen branch resting on plush green grass. The sphere intersects the line of a tiny stream that meanders off in the distance. To the left, mist rises off the softly rolling grass. In the distance, bushy topped trees stand hazy, shifting in hue to yellow on the right.

Detail from THE CROSSING featuring the leafless husk of a tree. The limbs are twisted bowing to the left. Several branches have splintered off and fallen to the ground where they lay on the plush grass. Below the branches, the trunk is mostly stripped of bark. Far afield, another sphere winks out in a subtle starbust that blends into the lemony wash near the horizon.

All of my Passage works use the dream-object of the lighted bubbles—symbols of spirit or unfettered consciousness—to convey the idea of movement from one state of mind to another, a transition to a more open and lighted place; a release. 2/2

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In a grassy field stands a leafless tree with limbs bowing gracefully left. Bathed in golden light, bare branches twist and spread like blood vessels against pale sky. Shadow falls across a trunk mostly stripped of bark, and several splintered limbs lie lifeless on the nearby ground. Extending in a line from this gnarly detritus, mist rises off well-manicured lawn as if the ground itself is exhaling. A transparent sphere containing a single flame floats low across the land while a small stream meanders, falling directly behind the sphere as if guiding it along an intended path. Barely visible in a lemony wash that defines soft rolling hills, a white starburst—possibly another sphere blinking out—sits far afield, tinting the bushy topped trees that line the background distance.

THE CROSSING (1997)
Oil on Canvas - 30” X 60”

The uncertainty of and inescapable attraction to the concept of life after death. 1/2

It's so true. 😮‍💨

Detail from THE LONG WAY HOME featuring a Kzinti, a cat-like humanoid, filling the frame of a door into a spacecraft. It holds a pistol in one hand. Smoke wafting from the corpse of a human male lying on the floor marks it both as the aggressor and victor of the encounter.

Figure detail from THE LONG WAY HOME featuring the body of a human male in red jumpsuit where he fell on the deck plates of the ship. Twin trails of smoke angle off him to the right before joining. A shiny silver pistol rests against his chest pointed down to the floor, indicating that he met his end too slow on the draw.

But then again, he just got blasted by an energy weapon, so he should look pretty messed up!

Cover illustration for Poul Anderson (Ace) 2/2

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Brandishing a shiny blaster pistol, a tawny furred alien with glowing green eyes steps aggressively through a hatch with its cat-like tail curling behind. The interior—presumably of a ship—is lit bright yellow with readouts of varying color on the bulkhead wall. Outside, a blue and purple field of stars can be seen. Down on the deck plates in the immediate foreground, white smoke wafts off the body of a man in red spacesuit. His pistol rests across his chest, apparently not drawn in time.

Book cover for THE LONG WAY HOME by Poul Anderson, published by ACE Books

THE LONG WAY HOME (1978)
Acrylic - 24” x 16”

The pose of the man on the floor looks somewhat clumsy to me. In retrospect, I feel like I should have used a model. 1/2

#art #booksky 🪐📚

Detail from THE END OF NATURE VII featuring flat treetops and a figure struggling with the line of a kite. Although the sky is blue, a sliver of crescent moon hangs in the upper left.

Detail from THE END OF NATURE VII featuring a view high in the sky through tall tree trunks to a red gas-powered kite trailing black smoke.

When I began this painting, I thought of the figure as misled by folly, wasting energy with a gasoline-powered kite. Later, however, I realized that one could read that through a playful exploration of technology she's finding the means for her deliverance. 2/2

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Slender trees, as seen among the clouds from below, slant upward, branching bronchial-like to support a leafy path that winds in a reverse S-shape, thinning as it fades behind more prominent tree trunks in the foreground. Golden twilight bathes the pale texture of the trees, and although the sky is still blue, a sliver of crescent moon hangs in the upper left. In the distance, standing atop the treetop, a figure struggles with a line attached to a red gas-powered kite. Black smoke trails off the glider and the tail droops limply below it.

THE END OF NATURE VII (2005)
Acrylic on Panel - 25” x 40”

Up until this point in my End of Nature series, I had portrayed the people who represent humanity in general as somewhat oblivious to the support that nature was providing for them. 1/2

#art

The annual fundraising drive for Locus Magazine ends tomorrow (4/14).

Publication *and* review of short fiction is more important than ever. Please lend them your support if you can (and signal boost please)!

Detail from WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE featuring the foreground left with a bulky, green alien with bulbous head and tiny red eyes extending its bumpy pink tongue from pronounced mandible in a long slurp. In one of its four hands, it holds a tiny cookie from the plate set on the table between guests. With his back angled toward the audience the farmer’s son seems enthralled by the visitors. The artist’s sigil, the stylized letters M and W combined within a circle, is etched on the back of the boy’s chair.

Detail from WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE featuring the foreground right where a farmer sits in overalls and white shirt with sleeves rolled up. He holds up a chocolate ice cream code and gives the audience a cocked, dimpled grin. Behind the farmer’s wife in purple dress and white apron nervously offers another cone to a purple furred creature with three curved horns on its head. A lobster-red insectile alien stares down with dotted eyes surprised at his dripping ice cream cone.

A young Mr. And Mrs. Whelan sat in as the farmer and his wife. The assignment came before the children, so the son is based on the boy in the story.

The love of ice cream, however, is very real. 2/2

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At a kitchen table surrounded by aliens, a man in overalls and white shirt with sleeves rolled up holds up a sugar cone topped with chocolate ice cream. He stares knowingly at the camera with mouth cocked in a dimpled grin. Behind him, a woman in apron nervously offers an ice cream to a creature with purple fur and horns on its head. In the foreground right, a lobster-red insectile alien stares down in surprise at his dripping treat. The last alien, bulky and green with bulbous head and tiny red eyes, extends its bumpy pink tongue from pronounced mandible in a long slurp. In one of its four hands, it holds a tiny cookie from the plate set on the table between guests. Seated in the foreground left with back angled toward the audience, a human boy, distracted from his dessert by the oddball affair, seems enthralled by the visitors. The background is a haze of bright yellow with white highlights defining an arched window.

Book cover for WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE by Alan Dean Foster, published by Del Rey.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE (1977)
Acrylic on Illustration Board - 20” x 16”

A classic Del Rey cover for the anthology of the same name by Alan Dean Foster. 1/2

#art #booksky 🪐📚

Framed in the eye-shaped opening of a cave, Rand al'Thor stands with one arm shading his eyes as he holds a glass sword horizontally aloft. He wears a red coat with ornate gold trim. His belt is an undulating Chinese dragon. Slung on his left hip are a sword and dagger. Behind him, a moon hangs in partial eclipse. The background of the cover illustration is divided by a stalactite pillar. To the left of it, Moiraine in blue dress and Nynaeve in yellow hurry after Rand as he takes a lunging step further into Shayol Ghul.

In this week's newsletter, Michael answers a question about costume design in his cover art.

What better excuse to showcase 14 of our favorite fashionable fantasy and SF illustrations...

theartofmichaelwhelan.substack.com/p/a-question...

We received acknowledgement last night that the seller will be taking the product down. Waiting to confirm they've actually done it as the listing is still up. ~ME

Detail from BIRDS OF A FEATHER featuring a boy leaning back on his arms while seated with legs spread in front of him in a V. Sitting among a flock of birds larger than he is, he wears tennis shoes, blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red ball cap that matches the plumage on the bag of their heads. All but one of the birds faces right in the same direction the boy gazes off into the distance.

Background detail from BIRDS OF A FEATHER featuring a single bird perched lower than the rest of the flock. It perches on the gnarled stump of a tree, posed in profile facing left. It spreads black wings at its side as its long neck dips back then up with the orange line of the horizon intersecting it.

Lately I seem to have birds on the mind. Maybe next month it will be mutants? Cats? Buggy aliens? Beautiful heroines? I can’t predict, and that’s all part of the surprise. 3/3

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Before photo of paint patterns on board that inspired BIRDS OF A FEATHER. The rough shapes of birds with wings folded around them are taking shape but the boy is not yet present. Their rocky perch is just a gray slope with little definition other than yellow rocks atop it.

Having fun messing around with accidents is the simplest way I can put it. 2/3

A boy in a red ball cap leans back on his arms while lounging on a rocky perch surrounded by birds larger than he is. The flock rests with gray-black wings folded around them, most looking off to the right. Their heads are black and aerodynamic and their necks bent in a U as aerodynamic beaks point forward. Each has the bright dot of an eye and vibrant red plumage coming off the back of their heads. The sky behind the rock is defined by the orange line of the horizon that separates billowing clouds from hazy sea beneath.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER (2021)
Acrylic on Board - 5 ½” x 10”

Palette Gremlins start with incidental shapes that occur in my environment. They seem to take on a life of their own as I react to whatever is happening on the surface. 1/3

😆🙌

Commercial infringement of the KA symbol, the stylized letters K and A bound within an uneven circle, set over a stock image of a rose. This is from a product listing for stickers sold online.

Excerpt from counter notice email: The counter notice submitted is provided below for your records. We will allow this material to become accessible, unless you provide us with notice that a lawsuit has been filed against the counter-noticing party within 10 business days. Please ensure a copy of the lawsuit is sent to ip-info-request@amazon.com to help ensure efficient processing. Note, that if a copy of the lawsuit is not provided within 10 business days, the identified content above will be reinstated. You recently provided me with a copy of a Notice of Infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This letter is a Counter-Notification as authorized in § 512(g) of the DMCA. I have a good faith belief that the material identified in the Notice of Infringement was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled. I therefore request that the material be replaced and/or no longer disabled. [Contact information redacted] (I) I am located in the United States and I consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which my address is located (OR) I am located outside of the United States and I consent to the jurisdiction of any judicial district in which Amazon may be found. (II) I agree to accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person. (III) I have a good faith belief that the material identified in the Notice of Infringement was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled. (IV) I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that this Counter-Notification and all statements therein are true and correct. (V) I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT PROVIDING FALSE STATEMENTS IN A COUNTER-NOTICE MAY LEAD TO CIVIL PENALTIES OR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

I am writing to follow up on notice of your infringement and commercial abuse of Michael Whelan’s exclusive intellectual property in your Amazon product listing. Your use of the KA symbol (the sylized letters K and A bound within an uneven circle) is unlicensed and unauthorized by the artist. We filed a copyright notice with Amazon documenting ownership of the art and any derivations of the symbol. By filing a counter notice, stating that the intellectual property belongs to you, this has moved from a simple copyright takedown notice to a serious legal matter. To be clear, the art you are infringing on is an interior illustration by Michael Whelan created for The Dark Tower by Stephen King. The art was commissioned in 2004 by the publisher Donald M. Grant, and there is a clear history of creation, publication, and ownership of the work that you’ll find in our website gallery page for THE DARK TOWER KA. You are hereby directed to CEASE AND DESIST ALL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT of the symbol and immediately remove the listing from Amazon and wherever else you may be advertising it. As a result of your counter notice, Amazon has provided us with your information so that we can pursue legal claim. If you continue to engage in copyright infringement after receiving this letter, your actions will be evidence of “willful infringement” and will result in legal action from both Michael Whelan and our business partners who hold license to use this art. Under 17 U.S.C. 504, the consequences of copyright infringement includes statutory damages up to $150,000 per image. If you or your attorney have any questions, you can contact me directly at this email. Otherwise I look forward to your prompt compliance in this matter.

Page 326 of THE DARK TOWER by Stephen King (Donald M Grant) featuring the interior illustration of KA, the stylized letters K and A bound within an uneven circle.

I'm never surprised to see someone use an image "found on the internet" in a commercial product. 😮‍💨

But when they double down with a DMCA counter notice, claiming ownership of art with a 20 year publishing history attached to one of the most famous authors on the planet? 🤯

Not smart... ~ME

Book cover for EMPIRE by H. Beam Piper, published by ACE Books.

Cover illustration for EMPIRE by H. Beam Piper (ACE) 3/3

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Detail from EMPIRE featuring a headless statue in stately robes sits upon a stone throne hovering in front of a vibrant blue spiral galaxy. A tall shiny helmet floats empty just above the statue’s shoulders.

Upper figure detail from EMPIRE featuring a headless statue sitting on throne hovering in front of a vibrant blue spiral galaxy. The artist sigil is worked into the stone of the throne.

Lower figure detail from EMPIRE featuring a tiny figure at the foot of the statue to provide perspective on how enormous it is.

He died in 1964, but his catalog was later acquired and reprinted by ACE Books. This painting was commissioned for a collection of his Federation stories. 2/3