Artist of the Month; Michael Whelan

One of the great sci fi and fantasy illustrators of the last decades has been Michael Whelan whose range and quality are so great as to inspire awe and respect from even the most deadened critics of the genre. For my part, I kept noticing Whelan's work, on various book covers and was amazed when I realised they were all the work of the same person. Whelan is nothing short of a genius, but its not for his sci fi and fantasy work that I bestow this opinion but rather for his more surreal paintings. Some of those that have caught my eye are included here. In recent years Whelan has put aside illustration and concentrated on fine art, and his paintings have the look of dreams illustrated. In many ways, his work reminds me of a Danish fine artist called Otto Frello except in as much as Frello's dreams appear to have been darker. Whelan's vision conjures up more of a sense of wonder and mystery.