by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 2010
Looking for sketching subjects, I started to seek out sculptures of angels and enjoyed using them as models. Not knowing why they particularly attracted me, I guess you could say I went ahead and painted them on faith, knowing that the deeper meaning would become more... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 2008
When I started this painting, the major theme concerned the power of the human intellect to light our way into the universe. The balls in the picture come from a conversation I had with my son Adrian about space travel. Explaining my sense of despair about the... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 2008
A self-portrait. 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 2008
Most days I take a walk in the late afternoon to clear my head and stretch my legs. Sometimes I come across trash thrown in a field or left in a parking lot and I get annoyed thinking about how thoughtless people can be. Before I know it, my mood has spiraled into a... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 2008
A small oil study done as a warmup one morning, later finished off in some limited color as seen here. 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 2007
I’ve done a number of paintings which have taken their symbolic cues from letter forms. “Eye” is one example, eye = “I”. As with many of my works, this one employs light as a symbol of knowledge and affirmation. There are two Stanley... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 2007
Completed in May, 2007 and already one of Michael’s most popular images. 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 2005
“Stepping stones” of ammonite fossils represent the lessons of history and are the only havens of safety for the figure in the foreground. If her journey toward the future is guided by the foundations of the past she can reach the horizon. 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 2002
This painting is one of several works derived from my experiences at MSKCC in 2000.That year I also read a couple of books which mentioned a feeling I have experienced at night during camping trips: lying in some huge quiet wilderness area, and imagining the... 
by Michael Whelan | Jan 1, 2002
Once when I was being sedated for surgery and I was counting backwards, “99, 98, …” I felt this surge of irresistible calm sweep over me like a vast tide of night. While I floated away I felt myself become totally, completely relaxed. I realized in an instant... 