July Q&A with Michael Whelan
Michael answers your questions on cancer, cars, contortionists and more!
We’re coming in hot—as you would expect in July—kicking off the Q&A with a little biographical context.
In 1998, Michael was treated for Lyme disease, but experienced a long bout of exhaustion in the year that followed. He was hardly getting any sleep, and the doctor’s blamed it on stress. After seeking a second opinion, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2000.
Following his recovery, he enjoyed a productive period in his fine art career and has been cancer free for over 20 years!
~Michael Everett
Sasha on Bluesky Social asked:
I have a genuine question—it’s sort of personal so feel free to say TMI—but...after being diagnosed with cancer, did you find that your inspirations for drawing and painting change? Or did not much change?
MRW: Kind of a tough question. Things DID change for me somewhat, but even after going through such an experience, over time “the persistence of the normal” asserted itself, and I found myself all too often stuck in some of the same ruts and routines previous to my hospitalization.
That being said, it’s true that I did embark on a fruitful number of large personal works which might not have been done had I not had that health crisis.
I thought that being on a morphine drip would give rise to a plethora of wild fantastic painting ideas. But truth be told, the opposite occurred. It deadened any creative drive I felt.
It wasn’t until just before going home that I did get one flash of an idea, which I drew on the back of the slender ”Guide for patients" booklet they gave me before leaving. That sketch, that visualization, was for the painting that became “Lumen 9”.
But concerning the return to the mundane, I’ve read the same thing about people taking psychedelics: that for a while things have a new shine and one’s perspectives are altered. But it often happens that with time one’s “default mode” comes back to the fore and assumes control over your life…and you just, well, keep going on. Perhaps having repeat psychedelic experiences would help fix a more cosmic outlook which would resist such normalization. I can’t say.
The main thing my illness projected onto me was a question: (given the grace to continue living) five years from now, what will I look back and say I wish I had been doing? If it's something different from what I find myself doing now, how can I get there? What do I need to do to facilitate those changes?
Alas, in spite of those insights, it’s so easy to just go up to my studio and fiddle with whatever is on my drawing board, forgetting any other considerations.
“I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you any different.” —Kurt Vonnegut
John Lobsterson on Bluesky Social asked:
Love the concept of Death driving a sports car. Was there any specific inspiration for the design of the car? Looks very Syd Mead.
MRW: Like most illustrators of my era, I’m well familiar with Syd’s work and have always admired it, so I can’t deny that there’s a visual memory of his work nestled there in my brain!
When doing this piece, I didn’t set out to replicate his work, but it’s likely that when I thought “cool car” then it was going to have some of the smooth curves and reflections one can see in his work as well.
Being such an admirer of his excellent style, I'll take your query as a compliment!
Trike on Bluesky Social asked:
Is the town [in HARBINGER] somewhere specific or did you conjure it up?
MRW: The town was made up, based on a dream I had.
I was influenced by many small crossroads seen while driving with my friend, the author Stephen Cox. He lives in New Mexico and when I told him what I was after, he graciously offered to drive me all over the state searching for just the right place...but no luck.
I was SURE it’s out there somewhere, but in the end we had to give up and I just invented a place to match my dream, drawing upon much of what I’d seen.
Bruce Arthurs on Bluesky Social asked:
Was it a deliberate genderswap on the "ripped bodice" trope to have Vanye show off his, umm, "assets"?
MRW: Busted! Right from CJ’s first one in this series Gate of Ivrel, that had been my intention, mirroring her handling of the trope in her books. On that first book, I intentionally reversed the positioning seen on the Frazetta Conan The Barbarian cover, with the woman at the feet of the warrior
Sinboy on Bluesky Social asked:
[Was SUSPENSION] Inspired by aerial silk performance?
No! If I had been, I’d never have done the painting…or at least, I wouldn’t have asked a model who’d never done such a thing to assume such a pose.
I didn’t know about those silk aerobatic people until a friend of our family started doing it. Her name is Leila No one and she is the most athletic, skilled and amazing person I’ve ever known. You can see her at Leilanoone.com.
She once did a handstand on the peak of the roof of our house! Scared me silly.
Weekly Art Recap
Crown of Shadows - the final cover for the Coldfire trilogy by C.S. Friedman
Misty Path - inspired by a foggy walk through the park
Efflorescent - 7th installment in the 2025 Leftovers & Palette Gremlins gallery
Suspension - a small study in oils later finished in limited color
The Clearing - interior illustration for The Dark Tower by Stephen King
The Adversary - final cover for the Saga of the Pliocene Exile by Julian May
Creative Writing Contest
Write a story or poem inspired by Michael Whelan’s original painting EFFLORESCENT.
The best entry written in 250 words or less will receive a one-of-a-kind print, produced at the same size as the original painting and signed by Michael Whelan.
We’ll feature the winner—chosen by Michael himself!—in an upcoming newsletter, and if we use your writing, we’ll grant you one-time use of Michael’s art to accompany the story on your website or blog.
Deadline for entry is Wednesday July 23, 2025.
All work must be the product of your own creativity (no AI). By entering, you grant us one-time permission to publish your story in our Substack newsletter. Please include your name (or pseudonym) with your entry and a link to your website or social media so we can properly credit you.
File attachments (preferably in PDF format) or links to your story are okay to send. Otherwise text/html works fine in the body of the email submitted to webmaster@michaelwhelan.com.
If the button link above doesn’t work, you can send your entry directly to webmaster@michaelwhelan.com.
Coming Wednesday…
Join us for another Whelan Wednesday, this time we’ll be featuring a large preliminary concept for the book Tangled Up In Blue by author Joan Vinge.
An exclusive preview of the original art will be available to our paid subscribers on Substack before the art is released in our shop on Wednesday, July 23 at 11am ET.
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I appreciate the comment about morphine. I see Creativity tilting a head, inhaling without chemical transference and deadening.