Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan | |
---|---|
Born | Culver City, California, U.S. | June 29, 1950
Nationality | American |
Alma mater |
|
Known for | Fantasy art, surrealism |
Children | Alexa Price-Whelan, Adrian Price-Whelan |
Website | www |
Michael Whelan (born June 29, 1950)[1] is an American artist of imaginative realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art.[2] Since the mid-1990s, he has pursued a fine art career, selling non-commissioned paintings through galleries in the United States and through his website.
The
Michael Whelan is one of the most important contemporary science fiction and fantasy artists, and certainly the most popular. His work was a dominant force in the transition of genre book covers away from the surrealism introduced in the 1950s and 1960s back to realism.
His paintings have appeared on the covers of more than 350 books and magazines, including many
Cover art by Michael Whelan has graced many music record albums including Demolition Hammer's Epidemic of Violence, The Jacksons' Victory; Sepultura's Beneath the Remains, Arise, Chaos A.D. and Roots; Soulfly's Dark Ages; Obituary's Cause of Death; and every album by the Elric-influenced metal band Cirith Ungol. He painted original works for the covers of Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell and The Very Best of Meat Loaf albums and several of his older paintings illustrate the liner notes of the former. In 2009, he painted the cover art for thrash metal band Evile's album Infected Nations.
Biography
Michael Whelan was born in
By the time he was a sophomore in high school, his family had moved to
Whelan continued school as a
After graduating from San José State University in 1973 with a
Shortly after arriving on the East Coast he exhibited some of his student work in the Lunacon convention art show in New York, where it was seen by Harlan Ellison. Ellison obtained the first magazine assignment for him, illustrating Ellison's story "Croatoan" which appeared in Gallery magazine in June 1975. At Lunacon Michael also met Rick Bryant, who subsequently introduced him to Neal Adams. Adams called the art director of Ace Books and paved the way for his first assignment at Ace. In 1975, Whelan painted the cover illustrations for ten books, eight from DAW and two Ace reprints of early Darkover novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley.[2]
Whelan soon gained a reputation as a talented, imaginative, and dependable cover artist, working for science fiction and fantasy publishers such as DAW, Del Rey, and Ace. Whelan credits the 1978 publication of Anne McCaffrey's best-selling The White Dragon featuring his cover art as a turning point in his career.[9] The SF Hall of Fame agrees.[5]
Whelan won his first Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist in 1980 at the World Science Fiction Convention in Boston. He went on to win the next Hugos, and at the 50th Worldcon in 1992 was voted the best professional artist of the last 50 years. As of 2010, he has won fifteen Hugo Awards.[10]
When commissioned, Whelan made a practice of reading the entire book that he sought to illustrate, usually twice. "I try to let the book I'm illustrating determine the approach and subject matter," he stated.[8] Fantasist Michael Moorcock wrote of Whelan, "I am more than usually grateful for an artist who not only depicts him [Elric] as I imagine (and describe him) but who also manages to capture some of the appropriate atmosphere" (Wonderworks, p. 36). Science fiction writer Anne McCaffrey praised him, declaring, "Fortunate indeed is the author who has Michael Whelan for an illustrator" (Wonderworks, p. 55).
Whelan illustrated the cover for Meat Loaf's 1993 album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell. He also provided several illustrations for the insert booklet, which were also used for the single releases such as "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)". Larger versions of his artwork were featured in the album's 2002 special edition release. He has since gone on to paint album cover artwork for many other recording artists, from Michael Jackson to Sepultura to Jonn Serrie.
In the early 1990s, Whelan devoted his time to personal visions and gallery works. In 1997, he held his first one-man art show at Tree's Place in Orleans, Massachusetts. Its success led to another in 1999 and his eventual semi-retirement from illustration.[11] Over the past two decades, many of Whelan's gallery pieces found their way into published projects, including the SPECTRUM art annuals.
Whelan has returned to illustrate several major book covers during his semi-retirement, including the last book of Stephen King's Dark Tower series and the final volume of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time. In 2015, The Stephen King Companion: Four Decades of Fear from the Master of Horror, which feature Whelan's illustrations, was published by St. Martin's Press.
Whelan has two children, including Adrian Price-Whelan.[12]
Honors
Whelan's honors and awards include:
- Fifteen Hugo Awards, including:[10]
- Thirteen for Best Professional Artist (1980–1986, 1988–1989, 1991–1992, 2000, and 2002)
- One for Best Original Artwork for The Summer Queen (1992)
- One for Best Nonfiction Book (Michael Whelan's Works of Wonder)
- Three World Fantasy Awards for Best Artist (1981, 1982, & 1983),[10]
- The readers of Locus magazine, the #1 professional and fan resource publication for the fantasy and science fiction genre, have awarded Whelan "Best Professional Artist" 31 times in their annual poll.[10][13][14][15]
- Twelve Chesley Awards from the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists (ASFA)[10]
- Inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, June 2009—the first living artist to have been inducted[3][5][16]
- The
Published art collections
- Beyond Science Fiction: The Alternative Realism of Michael Whelan, (2018) Baby Tattoo Books, ISBN 978-1-61404-018-7
- Something in My Eye, (1997) ISBN 0-929480-82-1
- The Art of Michael Whelan: Scenes/Visions, (1993) ISBN 0-553-07447-4
- Michael Whelan's Works of Wonder, (1988) ISBN 0-345-32679-2
- Wonderworks: Science Fiction and Fantasy Art, (1979) ISBN 0-915442-74-4
- Infinite Worlds: The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction Art (1997) ISBN 978-0-670-87252-7
- The Biographical Dictionary of SF & Fantasy Artists, Robt. Weinberg, ed., 1988
- Sorcerers – A Collection of Fantasy Art (1978), Bruce Jones and Armand Eisen editors, Catalog record for Title at the United States ISBN 978-0-345-27626-1
- Tomorrow And Beyond – Masterpieces of Science Fiction Art (1978), edited by Ian Summers ISBN 0-89480-055-8
- ISBN 0-88733-188-2
- The Chesley Awards – A Retrospective (2003), by John Grant and Elizabeth Humphrey, with Pamela D. Scoville ISBN 1-904332-10-2
- The Frank Collection (1999), Edited by Jane and Howard Frank, ISBN 1-85585-732-4
- ISBN 1-59929-027-8
References
- ^ "Whelan, Michael, 1950-". Library of Congress. 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Michael Whelan at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ a b "EMP". Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) . Press release 2009(?). Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (empsfm.org). Archived August 14, 2009. Retrieved 2013-03-19. - ^ Press Release: Michael Named 2009 Inductee to SF Hall of Fame Archived September 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (2009-04-01). News & Events. Michael Whelan. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
- ^ a b c "Michael Whelan biography". Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.. Archived July 22, 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
- ^ AudioBookCafe.com. Archived February 20, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
- Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine; September/October 1978; p 30-34
- ^ a b An interview with Michael Whelan Archived October 11, 2004, at the Wayback Machine (1997?). Maurizio Manzieri. Delos International. Address confirmed July 25, 2011.
- ^ FAQ: Illustration: Early Years Archived June 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Michael Whelan. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e
"Whelan, Michael" Archived June 6, 2011, at the Locus Publications. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ^ "Michael Whelan in Conversation 1997". An interview with Michael Whelan.
- ^ a b "In-depth Biography" 2008-present. Michael Whelan.
- ^ "Locus Awards 2013" News & Events. Michael Whelan.
- ^
"2014 Locus Awards Winners" Locus Publications. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
- ^
"2016 Locus Awards Winners" Locus Publications.
- ^ "SF Hall of Fame" News & Events. Michael Whelan.
- ^ "Solstice Award" News & Events. Michael Whelan.
Sources
- The Demon of Scattery (1979) (by Poul Anderson, and Mildred Downey Broxon, illustrated by Alicia Austin)[clarification needed]
- Locus, "Michael Whelan: Breathing Space", January 1993.
- Infinite Worlds: The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction Art, Vincent Di Fate (author), ISBN 978-0-670-87252-7
- The Biographical Dictionary of SF & Fantasy Artists, Robt. Weinberg, ed., 1988
- "Michael Whelan: Leap of Faith", by Karen Haber, Realms of Fantasy magazine, October 2001
- The Christian Science Monitor, February 15, 1990
- ARTFORUM International Magazine, September 1998 article, "Wonder Bred", by Bruce Wagner
- Starlog, November 1985, "The 100 Most Important People in Science Fiction"
- Infinite Worlds: The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction Art, Vincent Di Fate (author), ISBN 978-0-670-87252-7
- Chicago Sun-Times, October 1993
- The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, edited by George Mann, ISBN 0-7867-0887-5
- The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 1978, consultant editor: Robert Holdstock
- The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1988), edited by James Gunn, ISBN 0-670-81041-X
- The Frank Collection (1999), edited by Jane and Howard Frank, ISBN 1-85585-732-4
- The Chesley Awards: A Retrospective (2003), by John Grant and Elizabeth Humphrey, with Pamela D. Scoville ISBN 1-904332-10-2
Further reading
- Skrip, Jack (June 1996). "The InQuest Q&A: Michael Whelan". InQuest. No. 14. Wizard Entertainment. pp. 50–54.
External links
- Official website
- Michael Whelan on Instagram
- Michael Whelan on Twitter
- Michael Whelan on Facebook
- Michael Whelan at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- "Michael Whelan biography". Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.