PASSAGE TO SANCTUARY: ARRIVAL | The Art of Michael Whelan

OTHER WORKS

A blonde woman in white dress emerges from a tunnel of reinforced concrete to view a pastoral landscape. She has discarded a trail of roses along the raised walkway out. Reinforced by bands of concrete, the toroid becomes weathered and breaks down structurally, exposing a greater view at the top. Framed by the tunnel opening in the distance, a tree with a massive trunk fills the view. A mass of vegetation from the line of trees behind it form a leafy mane extending the height of the tree. A point of light flares star shaped halfway up the trunk.

Digital
1994

PASSAGE TO SANCTUARY: ARRIVAL

Date

© 1994

Details

Digital

Size

Other Works

SAILOR ON THE SEAS OF FATE

At the base of a spiral staircase, Elric stands over a green scaled demon. He draws back the long blade of Stormbringer in a two-handed grip. A black trail of motion can be seen at the end of the blade as it begins to sweep overhead and down for a killing blow. His clothes are torn to shreds and blood trails down the pure white skin of his chest and thigh. The demon bears its fans and it's fore claws grip Elric's leg

elric-untitled

darktower

On a grassy hilltop, Elric kneels over a defeated foe. Both hands grip Stormbringer as he sinks the long black rune blade deep. With lips parted and eyes pressed closed, Elric seems lost into the throes of ecstasy as purple tendrils of arcane energy draw forth another soul. Demonic faces, stretched and distorted, appear in the orange background above him.

goldwing-revised

wayofkings

amazons2

A man in chain armor and tattered cloak with a bandage wrapping his head holds out a sword at waist height. Flame licks the blade as his right hand ignites in blue green fire. A red and gold dragon perches just behind him with its massive aquiline head poised just over his shoulder as it's swings spread wide. It's left foreclaw grips the rock on which he stands while it's other claw extends around the man to envelop him in its defense. The dragon's eyes are vertical slits against a fiery glow. Behind them a blue crystalline lake leads to a castle topped with wide bronze domes on the opposite shore. Haze streaks the top of a moon hanging low and golden just above the horizon. Three pearlescent moons glow blue in the sky above, framed by the dragon's wings and billowing clouds.

sarra

eaglesarecoming

A solitary figure sits atop a throne made entirely of skulls. His hands are the only features not obscured by shadow or the flowing crimson of his hooded cloak, which spills down the raised dais. Candles set on each arm of the throne melt over the inset skulls. A wisp of smoke trails from one. On the floor lie several bodies. One man died grabbing at his throat. A woman in a white gown lies awkwardly on one hip while her arm extends behind her where she fell. An empty chalice lies on its side.

Wearing a yellow dress with a satchel hanging at her side, a redheaded woman stands with feet in an uneven stance atop stone waves. Caught in a moment turning, she holds a single bead between her gloved fingers. The “island” backdrop behind her is a strange mix of alien vegetation and rectangular crystals glowing orange-yellow, the only light source in a painting dominated by dark blue. The view through the trees on the left reveals a rectangular tower with no outward features. A man with light hair streaked with black kneels on a similar rock outcrop in the foreground left. In the sky, wavy contrails descend from left and right to a small circle hanging in the lavender tinted sky. Below lies a sea of shimmering beads.

lordprotector

Painting depicts Shallan Davar, a young redheaded woman, sitting on a cliff overlooking the Shattered Plains. She wears a thick blue dress and her hair is blowing in the wind. Her booted foot dangles over the edge, and she is holding an oversized sketchbook but the page is blank. Below she can see a base camp with rows of troops and a mobile bridge extending over a chasm. A trail of dark smoke blows over broken, lifeless terrain. Beyond, jagged mountains can be seen in hazy silhouette. Clouds mostly obscure a blue sky.

A man wearing the skull of a deer clasps the long tube of a telescope tightly to him. One sleeve of his tattered white garments is rolled up past the elbow. Ridges of veins are raised in the tense grips of his hands. Red orbs fill the sockets of the skull while green ribbon twists around the bone until loosely draping over antlers. Filaments sprout, oddly feathery, from the curling rack. On the dingy shelves behind, a small assortment of hardbound books lean with more stacked haphazardly on the long shelf below. Charts tacked to the wall curl with age. Points of light, more like street lamps than stars, gleam in the cracked glass of a many-paned window.

darknessoverhayholt

she

Light slants across the mist hanging over an Asian-style water garden. Lost in meditation, a monk sits with legs crossed, levitating a few feet off the ground. On either side of him, two banner hang from a pergola with wide overhanging eaves like a pagoda. Set on blue, an simple overlapping flower crest reflect Japanese iconography while on red an ornate dragon evokes Chinese style. On an arched bridge over peaceful green-blue waters, a band of warriors gather looking toward the solitary monk.

Framed by a full moon rising over hilltop, a female warrior poses triumphantly with her foot on the corpse of a defeated foe. Her heavy armor is a combination of segmented plate and exposed chainmail. Pauldrons flare wing-like, as does the bottom of her helm which is topped with a high tassel. Unrestrained wispy blonde hair is caught by the breeze. She holds a long spear with ribbons also stirring. A heavy mace hangs on her opposite hip while a sword with thin curving blade and crescent ornament on the grip hangs low on her back. A black steed cranes its neck ever so slightly to see around her.

journeybehindthewind

thanatos

memoryoflight

mym

stoneoffarewell

crownofshadows

Grass and ivy have overgrown ancient ruins, but the delicate artistry of the Sithi can be see in the still standing pillars and arches bathed in the golden light of sunset. A solitary statue kneels among the ruins. She holds a bow one-handed with an arrow knocked. In the other, she lightly grips a long spear with the tip angled down. In the foreground left, stairs wind up to another level of the ruins. A long sword and shield lay discarded there. Another skull and a dagger rest on the step above. Clearly, the remains are non-human based on the central ridge of spikes along the crown and the wing like projections from either edge of the skull.

In a scene lit only by muzzle flash, a disfigured green humanoid grabs the leg of a boy threatening to pull him off a platform. As the boy Jake turns back, his face is etched in horror. Roland, the last Gunslinger, grabs his arm while simultaneously firing his big revolver. Roland's weight is shifted back so the lines of his arms and legs all parallel drawn out on diagonals to add to the sense of motion. From the set of his square jaw and snarl on his lips to his brow pinched in concentration, Roland's expression is pure grit and determination. His eyes are drawn to murderous beads taking aim at the slack jawed, drooling Slow Mutant.

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