Michael Whelan

JOURNEY BEHIND THE WIND (1986)
Acrylic - 16" x 24"

Occasionally, I'll use a model in the course of painting an illustration. In this case I decided to use a photographer who worked about an hour's drive from my studio. 1/5

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #patriciawrightson

Dec 11, 2024 at 5:16pmWeb
Show threadMichael WhelanDec 11, 2024

Rather than waste the time traveling, I sent him the preliminary drawing I'd done and told him to duplicate the sketch in a photo.

When he received it he called to ask, "Why are you bothering?"
2/5

Show threadMichael WhelanDec 11, 2024
Sometimes I say the same thing! But in retrospect I realized that using the model reassured me that the lighting and proportions of the pose were conceived correctly. Sometimes they are not, and I'm glad for the chance to correct the error. 3/5
Show threadMichael WhelanDec 11, 2024
Occasionally I'm right, and the photo is wrong! Distorted perspective and odd quirks of positioning can sometimes lead an artist astray if he or she follows a photo uncritically. 4/5
Show threadMichael WhelanDec 11, 2024

Cover illustration for JOURNEY BEHIND THE WIND by Patricia Wrightson (Del Rey)

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/journey-behind-wind/
5/5

JOURNEY BEHIND THE WIND

Occasionally, I’ll use a model in the course of painting an illustration. In this case I decided to use a photographer who worked about an hour’s drive from my studio.Rather than waste …

The Art of Michael Whelan
Show threadChancerubbageDec 11, 2024

@MichaelWhelan

I’m still often surprised for whatever technical or editorial reason when a painting as printed appears different from the artwork. There are still Frazetta paintings I might never know ‘how they looked’ without seeing them in person. And he would go in and work on them some more too.

Show threadInsecurity Princess 🌈💖🔥Dec 11, 2024
@MichaelWhelan Thank you for sharing these details!