Michael WhelanFeb 20

DESCENT (1989)
Acrylic on Canvas - 28” x48”

When I was asked to do a new cover for Ray Bradbury's classic THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, I reread it and found I was deeply moved by the sense of inevitable tragedy that permeates the first half of the book. 1/4

#sciencefiction #illustration #raybradbury #bookcover

Show threadMichael WhelanFeb 20
I was also struck by the weirdness of the Martian culture and noted that the cities were said to be like bones. I liked the metaphor enough to use bone and coral-like forms for the architecture. 2/4
Show threadMichael WhelanFeb 20
Harkening back to legends of comets being harbingers of doom, the trail of the descending craft from Earth became the chief symbolic element in the painting. 3/4
Show threadMichael WhelanFeb 20

Book cover for THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES by Ray Bradbury (Bantam Spectra) 4/4

https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/descent/

Show threadHuntn00
@MichaelWhelan One of my favorite story collections growing up and I still have it in my electronic library. ❤️
Feb 20 at 4:10pmWeb