MEMORY OF A DISTANT SEA | The Art of Michael Whelan

PERSONAL VISIONS

A tall, lush tree towers above an arid landscape. A deep canyon cuts through the otherwise flat plain. Atop the tree, a woman with long, wavy blonde hair sits with one knee up. Her silky white robes drape over the dark green of the tree. She cradles a large ammonite fossil as she stares off into the distance. Seagulls glide overhead across pale blue-gray skies. A smattering of dark clouds hover low over the plain.

Acrylic on Canvas - 20" x 16"
1999

MEMORY OF A DISTANT SEA

Date

© 1999

Details

Acrylic on Canvas

Size

20" x 16"

Figure study of a woman in white robes cradling a large ammonite fossil

Personal Visions

lechelle

With a lantern held at his side, a man reaches out to touch the pitted orange texture of a tall standing stone. Stacked tight with no gaps between, rows of stone stretch endlessly to the horizon. Distant, the evening star can barely be seen in the hazy pink sky.

pipedream

An orange butterfly settles on the chest of an angel statue. Its eyes are closed solemnly, and the left arm is broken off while the right is clutching a bouquet of flowers. Green and orange wildflowers dot the slope leading up to the statue, and strands of ivy creep up the angel's robes. A cross-shaped gravestone is partially obscured by the angel. Another rounded headstone sits at the right edge of the frame. Otherwise, the background is filled with greenery that gives way to loosely rendered trees and a peek of pale blue sky.

A barefoot woman in a long black dress stands on a rock in the middle of a golden field of wheat. The simple cut of her dress is accented with purple at the waist, cuffs and neck. Her face is framed by wavy dark hair as she tilts her head to the side. She reaches a hand to the

flowersandweeds

diviningheart

gravity

Light cuts across a stone spiral leaving a sharp contrast of shadow and light on the curving walls. A blonde woman rests both hands on the concrete barrier as she peers over, her face illuminated. The wall wraps around her in a tight spiral, the same curve as an ammonite fossil as it unwinds from the origin where she stands. The damp sand is littered with smooth rocks and eventually covered with standing water that reflects the rectangular casted segments of the concrete walls.

DREAMSEEKER

sentinels

Self portrait of the artist in a daring leap off the top of a weathered concrete tower. In one hand, he grips a pencil, L-square and French curve. A coil of rope is looped at his elbow. In the opposite arm he awkwardly clutches a bundle of wood wrapped in canvas as he kicks off the railing into open air. Carried behind on loose straps, a satchel with a hammer half falling out leaves a trail of stray nails with his sudden motion. Below, wires attach to the tower at points leading off to other unseen structures. Rust streaks down from the guard rails at the top. Partway up the tower rebar is exposed and the wider base is cracking and worn down. A trio of doves glide past faded bills posted on the rounded grimy wall.

astrophysicist

A massive blue-green wave rises to vertical like an exponential growth curve. From left to right, the water begins smooth and placid, rippling as the curve begins then running in long ridges up a wall of water that fills half the painting. Lavender clouds fill the background sky.

worldoflightandshadow

A smooth stone piling stands tall at the edge of the water on a white sand beach. Set near the top, a circle wrought in rusted iron provides a view through to where the water meets the shore. The circle is bisected by a diagonal like a no symbol. Water pools at the base of the piling. The withdrawn tide has left a wavy line of white pebbles deposited along the sinuous water line.

landing

A harsh look down abandoned main street as a dust storm is about to swallow the town, pushing forward from billowing brown clouds on the horizon. In the foreground a stop light hangs papered over with a giant wasp nest. Ominously the red light of the signal protrudes from the nest like an unblinking eye fixated on the viewer. The yellow lane line dividing the street wavers, bowing off-center. To the left, a car is overturned. Among the wreckage lies a child's rag doll spilled out the passenger window. An eagle with wings spread wide is painted on the derelict shop window.

island

watchtower

elliesdream

bluebird

A tall, lush tree towers above an arid landscape. A deep canyon cuts through the otherwise flat plain. Atop the tree, a woman with long, wavy blonde hair sits with one knee up. Her silky white robes drape over the dark green of the tree. She cradles a large ammonite fossil as she stares off into the distance. Seagulls glide overhead across pale blue-gray skies. A smattering of dark clouds hover low over the plain.

Sunken into solid rock, a woman with wavy golden blonde hair lies with her arms spread and stares up at the sky. Her plain white t-shirt rides up to expose a hint of midriff. One knee is slightly raised, and a shadow falls across her thin, drab green sweatpants. The rock enveloping her shows some cracking and pebbling but is mostly worn smooth. A ridge of mountains runs just beyond forming a rim, tan against the gray rock in which she is situated. Past that more barren land leads to a stretch of mountain that climbs left to right with the visible break of a valley cut through before resuming in a long half dome. The panoramic view eventually gives way to soft blue skies.

sunflower

madpoet

wing

reach

A blonde woman in jeans and a white tank top stands on the concrete support of a highway overpass. Most of the structure is lit in golden twilight, but she stands in shadows underneath an expanse of green metal girders. With one arm out, she steadies herself against the structure while raising a lantern on a chain in the other hand. Opposite her, the tall towers of textured concrete combine with the curvature of the road to form an arc on the left side of the painting reminiscent of a question mark. Tall light poles, thin and roughly T-shaped, echo their form in the lower right.

intangibles

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