GIFT FROM THE SEA

Feb 14, 2025

Wearing a tan cloak with red trim, a woman with long brown hair stands next to a scaly green dragon. Perched on the rocky seashore, it curls its long slender tail and spreads its wings over her. A spiky conch-like shell hovers over her outstretched palm, casting a radial aura that illuminates them both. Reverently, her other hand is held to her chest as her eyes are cast up. Behind them, an outcrop of dark rock projects up on diagonals that mirror the shore they stand on. The backdrop mostly blocks out a night sky painted in a gradient of blue to purple. Two crescent moons spaced far apart are visible in the break between the rocks. — GIFT FROM THE SEA (2011), Acrylic - 27" x 24 ½"

Originally painted for my 2005 calendar and revised years later when I was the Artist Guest of Honor for DragonCon's 25th Anniversary. The revised painting was used for the program book and commemorative poster in 2011.

LEFT: 2005 Dragons & Mystics: The Art of Michael Whelan Calendar featuring the original version of GIFT FROM THE SEA. The figure faces forward with the hood of her cloak up. She is juggling a spiral of lights that unravel like the pattern of a nautilus shell. RIGHT: DragonCon 25th anniversary program featuring the finished version of GIFT FROM THE SEA. The figure holds a hand to her chest as a conch shell floats over her other palm with an arc of light around it. — 2005 Dragons & Mystics calendar and DragonCon program

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Additional images from GIFT FROM THE SEA

LEFT: Close detail from GIFT FROM THE SEA featuring the head of the dragon. Its eyes are thin slivers of red contrasting green scales. The snout ends with flared nostrils that give the tip a barbed appearance. The thinnest crescent of moon shows between the angle of rocks in the background. RIGHT: Figure detail from GIFT FROM THE SEA featuring a woman in tan cloak with red trim. A spiky conch-like shell hovers over her outstretched palm, casting a radial aura. She wears a golden bracelet set with emeralds. Her earrings are wide rings with a trio of pearls of different sizes dangling from. The rocks she stands on are projected on diagonals, and the green tail curls around the stone. — Details from GIFT FROM THE SEA

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GIFT FROM THE SEA

Additional images from GIFT FROM THE SEA

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