DOA (1979)

Acrylic on Illustration Board - 28" x 18"



The history of some paintings is so clouded by the passing time that it takes effort to unravel the origin. Such was the case for this illustration for Poul Anderson. 1/4

#sciencefiction #illustration #poulanderson #acebooks

Originally commissioned by ACE Books in 1979 for an anthology edited by Jim Baen, the cover took inspiration from Anderson’s lead story “The Ways of Love.” 2/4
That story was a sequel to The Enemy Stars, originally published back in 1959. Jim later repackaged that novel at Baen Books and included "The Ways of Love" tying it all together with my original cover art. 3/4

Cover illustration for DESTINIES (Vol 1, No 2) and later THE ENEMY STARS by Poul Anderson. 4/4

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

@MichaelWhelan

This one has a curiously Kelly Freas vibe to it

@cavyherd @MichaelWhelan
I agree. It reminds me of a cover Freas did in the 60's or 70's of an alien wearing a red cross carrying a woman.

@telzey @MichaelWhelan

For me it's mostly the composition, lighting & color scheme that does it.

@cavyherd You're right about the lighting. It's very Freas.